t'\'."''' '.••'■';'""• •,','•'.'' ■ 



ivK'' 



BA'.'./:,--VA^'Wia«aBaBaaBy. 



~>., 



Special Days Tn School 



:with: 



« CiUrary Selections * 



2^ y^M 




ARRANGBD BY 



JEAN L. GOWDY. 



Prirvcipad Washington School. 



SCHOOL EDUCATION COMPANY 



PublisKers 



MINNEAPOLIS. MINNESOTA 



1S02 



TMf <.iBffA«V OF 
CONCRCtS, 

Tin Cows* fiECttveo 

AUG. 1902 

CoPyW«MT BHTWV 

OUASS^XXC Ho. 
j r >r /:> 
COPY e. 



Copyright 1902 
JEAN L, GOWDY 



s\ 



TO ALICE WOODWpliTH COOLEY. 

My honest critic at-nd tr\ie friend. 

This volume is affectionately dedicated. 



.3 



CONTENTS. 



Thanksgiving Day: Thankfulness, . 
Thanksgiving Day: Harvest in Many Lands, 

The Pilgrims 

Christmas with the Little Ones, 
Christmas in the Intermediate Grades, 

Our Heroes and Our Flag 

Lincoln's Birthday, 

Washington's Birthday 

Poets' Day, 

Poets' Birthdays, 

Arbor Day, 

Bird Days, 

Memorial Day 

Independence Day, . . '. . . 



1 

14 

26 

37 

46 

53- 

59 

68 

82 

96 

135 

157 

177 

205 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Landing of the Pilgrims, 

The Holy Night 

Christmas Chimes, 

Whittier's Home, Haverhill 

Song of the Lark, 

Signing of the Declaration of Independence, 



Facing page 28 
37 
44 
107 
157 
205 



MUSIC. 



Thanksgiving Song, 
Merry Autumn Days, 
Our Homestead, 
The Sand Man, . 
The Shell, 
A Dutch Lullaby, 
Our Flag Colors, 
Flag Song, . 
Hurrah for the Flag, 



3 
23 
86 

89 

90 

93 

.195 

196 

197 



The portions headed "Lincoln's Birthday" (page 59) and "Wash- 
ington's Birthday" (page 68) should appear as independent chap- 
ters. 



S P E C I A L-D AY EXERCISES. 

The aim. in these exercises should not be to exhibit the 
school or simply to please the parents, but all special-day 
exercises should be the outgrowth of special study, in some 
line, and should be given to fix the important points in that 
study more firmly in the minds of the children. 

No extra time need' be given in preparing for the pro- 
grammes. The poems m'ay be learned as class exercises, the 
songs may be part of the daily music lesson, and from time 
to time the best reproduction or essay in the written language 
lesson may be laid aside to be read on the day appointed for 
the special exercises. 

Only the best in literature should be given to the children, 
and that in the most impressive manner. By the special-day 
exercises we may greatly strengthen the impressions made by 
our history and literature lessons, and we may set before 
the children grand ideals of patriotism, courage, loyalty, good 
living and true ambition. 

Every time a child truly appreciates a good poem, story 
or essay or feels the truth of a noble thought, a new cell of the 
right kind is developed, and by the building of such cells wc. 
help in the formation of his character. 

Let the formation of noble ideals of life be the aim in giv- 
ing these exercises. 

Jean L. Gowdy. 



^ THANKSGIVING DAY ^ 



PRIMARY GRADES. 



THOUGHT, — THANKFULNESS. 

For two or three days before Thanksgiving, the teacher 
should be instilling into the hearts of the children, by means 
of poem, story and act, the true feeling of gratitude for the 
blessings they have received and are now receiving. 

To give, to think of others, to be thankful to others ; to 
think not merely of the dinner to come, but of the hands 
that supply the dinner ; tracing always back to the source of 
all good gifts — our Heavenly Father. 

The following is a list of stories and poems which will 
be found very helpful in the work : 
Stories : 

How Patty Gave Thanks. — (From "Child's World.") 
(Milton, Bradley Co.) 

Thanksgiving in the Barn. — (From ''Child's World.") 
(Milton, Bradley Co.) 

The Thrifty Squirrels. — (From Child's World.'') (Mil- 
ton, Bradley Co.) 

Chusey, The Thanksgiving Turkey. — Susan Coolidge. 

How We Kept Thanksgiving. — H. B. Stowe. (From 
"Old Town Folks.") 

Peggy's Thanksgiving Dinner. — Kindergarten Stories. 

Thanksgiving Story. — Ella Reeve Ware. (From "Three 
Little Lovers of Nature.") 

Two sides to a Thanksgiving Story. — (Youth's Compan- 
ion, Nov., 1899.) 

The First Thanksgiving. — (From "Story Hour.") 

The Chopper's Child. — Alice Cary. 

Poems : . 

Harvest Song. — James Montgomery. 
Thanksgiving Day. — Lydia Maria Child. 
Thanksgiving Always. — Margaret Sangster. 
Nut Babies. — (From "Chil.d Garden.") 
Who Gives Us Our Thanksgiving Dinner? — Kindergarten 
Review . 



2 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Hymns : 

A Thanksgiving Song. — R, W. Emerson, 

Thanksgiving Hymn. — Mary Mapes Dodge. 

Thanksgiving Hymn. — Montgomery. 

We Thank Thee. 

On Thanksgiving Day the schoolroom may be darkened 
and decorated with hghted jack o' lanterns somber and 
jack o' lanterns jolly, or pumpkins may be made into the 
forms of rose bowls or vases or jardinieres, and filled with 
flowers. 

A table may be placed in the front of the room and 
covered with fruits and vegetables representing the harvest, 
and sheaves of wheat, barley and oats may be arranged 
artistically about the room. 

A large horn of plenty may be made, and fruit and 
vegetables be so placed as to appear to be rolling from its 
mouth . 

The children should be allowed to assist in the work of 
decoration and arrangement. The donation of harvest prod- 
ucts should be made by them and when the exercises are 
over, the whole may be made their offerings to the poor. 

DOWN TO SLEEP 

NOVEMBER woods are bare and still, 
November days are clear and bright. 
Each noon burns up the morning's chill, 
The morning's snow is gone by night, 
Each day my steps grow slow, grow light, 
As through the woods I reverent creep, 
Watching all things lie "down to sleep." 

I never knew before what beds, 

Fragrant to smell and soft to touch, 

The forest sifts and shapes and spreads ; 
I never knew before how much 
Of human sound there is in such 

Low tones as through the forest sweep 

When all wild things "lie down to sleep." 

Each day I find new coverlids 

Tucked in, and more sweet eyes shut tight ; 
Sometimes the viewless mother bids 

Her ferns kneel down, full in my sight ; 

I hear their chorus of "good night," 
And half I smile and half I weep, 
Listening while all lie "down to sleep." — H. H. 

Copyrighted, 1886, by Roberts Bros. By permission of 
Little, Brown & Co. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



A THANKSGIVING SONG. 



R. W. Emerson. 




1. For flow'rs that bloom a 

2. For blue of stream and 

3. For moth - er love and 

4. For Thy dear, ev - er - 

li: 



bout our 


feet. 


For 


blue of 


sky, 


For 


fa - ther 


care, 


For 


last - ing 


arms 


That 






ten - der grass so fresh, so sweet, For song of bird and 
pleas-ant shade of branches high. For fragrant air and 
broth-ers strong and sis-ters fair, For love at home and 
bear us o'er all ills and harms, For blessed words of 




hum of bee, For all things 

cool - ing breeze, For beau - ty 

school each day, For guid - ance 

long a - go, That help us 



fair 
of 

lest 
now 



we 
the 
we 
Thy 



hear or see. Our Fa - ther, we thank Thee, 

blooming trees, Our Fa - ther, we thank Thee, 

go a - stray, Our Fa - ther, we thank Thee, 

will to know, Cur Fa - ther, we thank Thee. 



4 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

THE FIICST THANKSGIVING. 

NEARLY three hundred years ago, in a queer little ship 
called the Mayflower, a little boy and girl came to our 
country from Holland. Their parents were seeking 
a home where they might serve God as they thought it right 
to serve Him. They had lived here about a year when our 
story begins. 

Such an odd little home they had, near the New 
England coast, which was very wild, not at all as it is 
to-day. The house in which they lived was built of logs, 
and the windows were just oiled papers stretched tightly 
across a small square hole. Although little Jason and his 
sister Thankful stood by the window this morning, they 
could not see through it at all, and only stood there because 
it seenied lighter there than elsewhere in the room. The 
floor was of rough boards and overhead were great rafters 
on which were hung swords, belts, coats, bundles of herbs, 
pots, pans and many other things. There was very little 
furniture in the room ; a wooden table scoured very white, 
a few stifl'-backed chairs arranged against the wall, and a 
dresser on which were some pewter cups and platters, stand- 
ing in a corner. But there as a great fireplace with a settle 
beside it, and the cheerful blazing fire helped to make the 
poor little room brighter. Near the fireplace was a spinning- 
wheel, where the mother was stepping rapidly to and fro, 
making a busy, humming sound as she worked. 

Little Thankful wore a white cap which fitted closely over 
her curls in Puritan style, for she was a little Puritan maiden 
and she lived in Plymouth. It was not like the Plymouth 
of to-day, but a town of several log dwelling houses in a 
hne, leading to the ocean, and one larger building which 
served as a church on Sunday, as a fort whenever unfriendly 
Indians appeared, and as a storehouse at all times. 

When the Mayflower had landed, this spot had seemed 
a very dreary place to make a home, but they had all worked 
faithfully through sickness and many hardships, often being 
unable to get food enough to satisfy their hunger. The May- 
flower had been sent back across the ocean to get food; but 
months had passed, and it had not returned. 

Some friendly Indians had taught the settlers how to raise 
corn and other things, and now the storehouse was filled 
to overflowing. With thankful hearts, the settlers had de- 
cided_ to have a day .of thanksgiving and a feast, and they 
had invited their Indian friends to .enjoy it with them in 
the storehouse. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 5 

There was to be wild turkey shot in the forest, venison 
furnished by their Indian friends, corn bread made from 
their own corn, and pumpkin pies made from their pump- 
kins raised in the cornfields on the hillside. 

Do you see now, children, why we use these things each 
year in our Thanksgiving feast? We can hardly imagine a 
Thanksgiving dinner without turkey and pumpkin pie ! 

It was about this Thanksgiving feast that the children 
were talking as they stood by the window in the little Plym- 
outh home. 

"We cannot go, just because we are children," said Jason 
angrily, "I beheve the grown up people want all the good 
things themselves." 

"Mother said she would bring us a Dutch cake, and we 
have plenty of nuts," whispered Thankful. 

"Well, I won't stay at home, see if I do," answered Ja- 
son. 

"But Father told us not to leave the house, and Mother 
would be so worried if we ventured into the woods •" replied 
Thankful, "and you must take care of me, you know." 

"I'm no baby, and besides I do not intend to go into the 
wood's," said Jason stoutly, "I'll take care of you all right." 

"But I won't disobey father and mother," declared Thank- 
ful" 

When at last they were left alone, it did seem very quiet 
and lonesome, and they opened the door just a little. How 
pleasant the sunshine was, and how tempting the mild No- 
vember air ! 

Just at that moment a pretty gray squirrel skipped across 
a field near by. 

"ni catch him," cried Jason, "and we'll have him for a 
pet." Out ,he ran, and Thankful, snatching up her little 
bonnet ran after him. On and on they ran, the nimble 
little squirrel now near at hand, now almost out of sight. 
Finally he disappeared altogether. 

"Never saw anything run so fast," panted Jason dropping 
down to rest. "Guess we had better go back." But when 
they tried to find their way back they could not even tell in 
which direction to go. Poor Thankful began to cry. 

_ Jason put his arms around her and said bravely. "Never 
mmd, httle sister, we will soon find our way, but let us 
rest a minute." As they sat there on the stone they heard 
a sweet voice say, "How do. English !" 

Looking up, they saw a little Indian boy standing before 
them. He was dressed in skins and he had a tinv bow and 
quiver hanging upon his back. His feet were bare, and he 
had stepped so lightly that the children had not heard him 



6 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

At first Thankful .was frightened, and she clung close to 
her brother ; but Jason thought him so funny that he re- 
turned the salutation and began to talk to him. But the 
bright-eyed little fellow only laughed and shook his head. 
When Jason took from his pocket a handful of nut-meats, 
the little Indian seemed delighted. After he had eaten a 
few of them he began to dance for the children. It was 
a queer fantastic dance, and' it interested them so much that 
they shouted and clapped their hands. This pleased the little 
Indian, and he kept on for some time. 

When he had finished the strange performance, he turned 
suddenly and gazed out over the water. The children looked 
too. "What is that?" asked Thankful, pointing in the direc- 
tion the boy was looking. "It must be a sea bird," answered 
Jason. "How large it is, and see how its wings are spread!" 

"May be it will carry us ofif," said Thankful in a fright- 
ened tone. "O dear, can we never findi Plymouth again?" 

Before Jason could answer, the little Indian sprang for- 
ward, motioning them to follow. "Plymout'! Plymout'!" he 
shouted . 

"He knows the way," cried Jason joyfully. 

"Oh, he is going in the wrong direction, I know," said 
Thankful, drawing back. At this the little stranger grasped 
her arm, and tried to pull her along still shouting, "Plym- 
out' !" 

"Let's try it, anyhow," said venturesome Jason ; "any- 
thing is better than staying here, and it is getting late." 

So they followed their guide, often running to keep pace 
with him. And sure enough, after a long, weary walk they 
arrived, breathless, at their home. Forgetting everything 
but their desire to see father and mother again, they rushed 
down to the storehouse and burst in upon the people assem*- 
bled at the feast, dragging their dusky little friend with them. 

Around the great tables were seated the settlers and their 
Indian guests enjoying the good things. When the great 
chief Massasoit saw the little Indian boy, he dropped the cup 
he held, and springing forward he caught the child in his 
arms. "Light of my eyes — staff of my footsteps! Thou art 
come back to my heart to be the sunshine of my wigwam!" 
he exclaimed joyfully. 

It was found that the boy was his own son, who had 
been stolen some time before by unfriendly Indians, and the 
father had supposed him dead. 

Amid the great rejoicing, Jason and Thankful were clasped 
in the arms of their parents, who forgot to chide them for 
their disobedience ; and as Thankful sat upon her proud 
father's knee, Massasoit placed about her neck a string of 
wampum. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL. 7 

"We saw a wonderful sea bird out on the ocean," said 
Jason. "It was many times larger than the swans at Am- 
sterdam, and its wings were spread," 

"The ship! the ship!" cried the settlers, and they rushed 
out of the storehouse and down to the sea shore. Sure 
enough, there was a ship in the distance, sailing straight 
towards Plymouth. 

How the g;uns rang out their welcomes from the shore, 
how the ship's cannon sent joyous replies, and how full of 
gladness was the little town ! 

The good ship. Fortune, brought food, friends, and many 
comforts of which the settlers had long been deprived. 

As Jason an'd Thankful sat on the settle before the fire 
that night, Jason said, 'T know what Thanksgiving means, 
it means plenty to eat." "Perhaps," replied Thankful, "but 
I think it means giving thanks for being all together again." 

Although this Thanksgiving happened so many years ago, 
we still keep a day for special thanksgiving each year, and it 
still means thanks for plenty to eat and for all being together 
once more, just as it did in Plvmouth to Jason and Thank- 
ful.— Adapted from "An Old-Time Thanksgiving." (In St. 
Nicholas.") 



8 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

PR.OGR.AMME. 

Song: We Thank Thee. 
Tunes : 

'The Morning Light is Breaking." 
"Come May, Thou Lovely Lingerer."— M(?^art 
We plow the fields and scatter 

The good seed on the land, 
But it is fed and watered 

By God's Almighty hand. 
He sends the snow in winter, 

The warmth to swell the grain, 
The breezes and the sunshine 
And soft refreshing rain. 

He only is the Maker 

Of all things near and far. 
He paints the wayside flower 

And lights the evening star. 
The winds and waves obey Him, 

By Him the birds are fed. 
Much more to us. His children. 

He gives our daily bread. 

We thank Thee, then, O Father, 

For all things bright and good. 
The seed time and the harvest. 

Our life, our health, our food. 
Accept the goods we offer 

For all thy love imparts 
And what thou most desirest, 

Our humble, thankful hearts. 



-Selected. 



Stories : 

The First Thanksgiving. — "Story Hour." 
or, 

The First Thanksgiving. (See page 4.) 
Song: Thanksgiving hymn. Tune, "America." 

The God of harvest praise; 
In loud thanksgiving raise 
Heart, hand and voice. 
The valleys laugh and sing. 
Forests and mountains ring. 
The plains their tribute bring. 
The streams rejoice. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 9 

Then iGod of harvest praise, 
Hands, hearts and voices raise, 
. With sweet accord. 
From field to garner throng. 
Bearing your sheaves along. 
And in you harvest song, 
Bless ye the Lord. 

James Montgomery. 
Thanksgiving Day Thoughts : 

God is glorified, not by our groans, but by our thanks- 
givings. —Whipple. 
If happiness has not her seat 
And center in the breast ; 
We may be wise, or rich or great. 
But never can be blest. 

— Burns. 
Little gifts are precious, 
If a loving heart 
Help the busy fingers, 
As they do their part. • — Selected. 
Give thy heart's best treasure, — 
From fair Nature learn ; 
Give thy love — and ask not. 
Wait not a return! 
And the more thou spendest 
From thy little store, 
With a double bounty 
God will give thee more. 

Adelaide Proctor. (From "Give") 

A grateful heart is itself a prayer. — Lessing. 

Thank God for the beauty broadcast 
Over our own dear land ; 
Thank God, who to feed his children. 
Opens his bounteous hand ; 
Thank God for the lavish harvests. 
Thank Him from strand to strand. 

— Margaret Sangsfer. 

"And ever, where honest hands have wrought, 
God hears the true Thanksgiving." 

I know not where His islands hft 

Their fronded palms in air, 
I only know I cannot drift 
Beyond His love and care. 

Whittier. 
"Kindness is the music of good-will to men, and on this 
harp the smallest fingers may play Heaven's sweetest tones 
on earth." 



10 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Story: The Thrifty Squirrels.— (From "Child's V^^orld.") 

(Told by a child.) 

Recitation : Nut Babies. 

Rock-a-by babies on the tree top ; 
-. When the wind blows the cradles will rock, 
When the stems break the cradles will fall, — 
Down comes rock-a-bye babies and all. 
Hush-a-bye, hush-a-bye babies grow ; 
Hush-a-bye, hush-a-bye nuts you know 

Will fall to the ground 

And there will be found 
By children and squirrels all around. 

— (From Childi Garden.) 

Song: A Thanksgiving Song. — R. W. Emerson. (See page 

3). 
Selected Quotations: (Children holding the fruit referred 
to in the quotations.) 

The soil untilled, a ready harvest yields; 
With wheat and barley wave the golden fields, 

—Pope. 

And chestnuts fall from satin burrs. 
Without a word of warning ; 
When on the ground red apples lie, 
In piles like jewels shining, 
And redder still, on old stone walls 
Are leaves of woodbine twining. 

—H. H. 
Bent low, by Autumn's wind and rain, through husks that, 

dry and sere, 
Unfolded from their ripened charge, shone out the yellow ear ; 
Beneath, the turnip lay concealed, in many a verdant fold. 
And glistened in the slanting light the pumpkin's sphere o£ 
gold. — — Whittien 

Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard ! 

Heap high the golden corn ! 
No richer gift has Autumn poured 
From out her lavish horn ! 

Let other lands exulting glean 

The apple from the pine. 
The orange from its glossy green. 

The cluster from the vine ; 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 11 

But let the good old crop adorn 

The hills our father trod ; 
Still let us for His golden corn, 

Send up our thanks to God! 

— IVhittier. 

For mellow pears we have gathered in, 
For rosy apples and well-filled bin, 
That tell of a fruitful year. 
For golden grain that is stored away. 
For fragrant piles of clover hay, 
Let us thank our Father dear. 

— Dora Read Goodale. 

The berries of the brier-rose 
Have lost their rounded pride ; 
The bitter-sweet chrysanthemums 
Are dropping heavy-eyed. 

His store of nuts and acorns now 
The squirrel hastes to gain. 
And sets his house in order for 
The winters dreary reign. 

— Alice Gary. 

Song: Thanksgiving Hymn. 

Can a little child like me. 
Thank the Father fittingly? 
. Yes, oh yes, be good and true, 
Patient, kind in all you do ; 
Love the Lord and do your part, 
Learn to say with all your heart, 
Father, we thank Thee ! 
Father, we thank Thee ! 
Father in Heaven we thank Thee! 

For the fruit upon the tree, 
For the birds that sing of Thee 
For the earth in beauty drest, 
Father, Mother and the rest. 
For Thy precious loving care, 
For Thy bounty everywhere, 

Father, we thank Thee ! 

Father, we thank Thee ! 
Father in Heaven we thank Thee. 

— Mary Mapes Dodge. 

Story: The Chopper's Child.— Alice Cary. (Told by a 
child.) 



12 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL, 

Recitation : 

"Gratefully we saw in the spring 
Rain and sunshine gay ; 
All together let us sing 
On Thanksgiving day. 

"Heaven!}^ Father, hear our thanks, 
For Thy loving care ; 
Help us now to show our love 
And each blessing share," 

Song : Over the River. 

Over the river and through the woods, 

To grandfather's house we go ; 

The horse knows the way 

To carry the sleigh 
Through the white and' drifted snow. 

Over the river and through the woods, — 

Oh, how the wind does blow ! 

It stings the toes 

And bites the nose 
As over the ground we go. 

Over the river and through the woods, 

To have a first-rate play, 

Hear the bells ring 

**Ting-a-ling-ling !" 
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day! 

Over the river and through the woods, — 
Now grandfather's cap I spy! 
Hurrah for the fun! 
Is the pudding done? 
Hurrah for the pumkin pie! 

— Lydia Maria Child. 
Recitation : 

O let us hold unruffled still 

The pure peace of believing ; 

The clear, rich anthem of our praise 

Be free from notes of grieving; 

In sweet, serene and thankful hearts 

Lies all the joy of living ; 

Lift pure and strong your choral song 

And make a glad Thanksgiving. 

— Goodale. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 13 

Recitation: (By School.) 

Thank God for rest, where none molest, 
And none can make afraid, — 
For Peace that sits as Plenty's guest 
Beneath the homestead shade ! 

Build up an altar to the Lord. 

O grateful heart of ours ! 
And shape it of the greenest sward 

That ever drank the showers. 

Lay all the bloom of gardens there. 

And there the orchard fruits. 
Bring golden grain from sun and air. 

From earth her goodly roots. 

There let the common heart keep time 

To such an anthem sung 
As never swelled on poet's rhyme, 

Or thrilled on singer's tongue. 

A song of faith that trusts the end 

To match the good begun, 
Nor doubts the power of Love to blend 

The hearts of men as one ! 
— Whittier. (From "The P^ace Autumn.") 



v< THANKSGIVING DAY n^ 



HARVEST IN MANY LANDS. 

IN the Geography and Language work much of this prep- 
aration work must be given. 
The idea of the horn of plenty may be here used, as 
suggested in the exercises for primary grades, with products 
of the many lands studied, falling from' it, as cocoanuts, rice, 
coffee, tea, cocoa, pepper, spices, foreign nuts, corn, pump- 
kins, etc. 

The children who read the papers on the harvests in the 
different lands, may be dressed in the costume of the country 
of which they read, or may carry the flag of that country. 

As many of the products of the different countries as pos- 
sible should be collected, that the countries may be more real 
to the children. 

There is a wide field for selection in making a program, 
and the one given is intended to be merely suggestive. 
References : 

The World and Its People. MX. (Silver Burdett & Co.) 
Asia. — Frank Carpenter. (American Book Company.) 
North America. — Carpenter. (American Book Company.; 
South America. — Carpenter. (American Book Company.) 
The World by the Fireside. — Kirby. (T. Nelson & Son, 

New York.) 
Boys of Other Countries. — Bayard Taylor. (G. P. Put- 
nam's Sons, New York.) 
Seven Little Sisters. — Jane Andrews. (Ginn & Co.) 
Each and All. — Jane Andrews. (Ginn & Company.) 
Ten Boys. — Jane Andrews. (Ginn & Company.) 
Our World.— Mrs. Mary Hall. (Ginn & Company.) 

Poems: 

The Harvest Moon — Longfellow. 

Autumn. — Longfellow. 

November. — Alice Gary. 

The Palm-Tree. — Whittier. 

The Coloring of the Grapes. — Sarah K. Bolton. 

The Corn Song. — Whittier. 

The Pumpkin. — Whittier. 

The Autumn Festival. — Whittier. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 15 

The Peace Autumn. — Whittier. 
Maize for the Nation's Emblem. — Celia Thaxter. 
Song of the Harvest. — Henry Stevenson Washburn, 
Austrahan Poetry. — James Rochis.. 
The Wind Across the Wheat. — Margaret Songster. 
Columbia's Emblem. — Edna Dean Proctor. 
Songs : 

O the Merry Harvest Time. — Geo. Webb. (From '"En- 
core.") (Oliver Ditson Co.) 
Song of the Sun. — Jennie Youngs. (The Wyatt Company.) 
Thanksgiving Day. — Canon Ainslee. (Scott, Foresman 

& Company.) 
Thanksgiving Ode. — J. G. Holland. 
The Happy Farmer. — Schumann. 
Merry Autumn Days. — C. H. Congdon. 

THE HARVEST MOON.* 

T is the Harvest Moon ! On gilded vanes 
And roofs of villages, on woodland crests 
And their aerial neighborhoods of nests 
Deserted, on the curtained window-panes 

Of rooms where children sleep, on country lanes 
And harvest-fields, its mystic splendor rests ! 

Gone are the birds that were our summer guests, 
With the last sheaves return the laboring wains ! 

All things are symbols : the external shows 
Of Nature have their image in the mind. 

As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves ; 
The song-birds leave us at the summer's close, 

Only the empty nests are left behind. 
And pipings of the quail among the sheaves. 

— Longfellozv, 

THE CORN SONG. 

XIEAP high the farmer's wintry hoard! 
•* * Heap high the golden corn ! 

No richer gift has Autumn poured 
From out her lavish horn! 

Let other lands, exulting, glean 

The apple from; the pine. 
The orange from its glossy green, 

The cluster from the vine; 



16 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

We better love the hardy gift 

Our rugged vales bestow, 
To cheer us when the storm shall drift 

Our harvest-fields with snow. 

Through vales of grass and meades of flowers, 

Our ploughs their furrows made. 
While on the hills the sun and showers 

Of changeful April played. 

We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain 

Beneath the sun of May, 
And frightened from our sprouting grain 

The robber crows away. 

All through the long bright days of June 

Its leaves grew green and fair. 
And waved in hot midsummer's noon 

Its soft and yellow hair. 

And now, with autumn's moonlit eyes, 

Its harvest-time has come, 
We pluck away the frosted leaves, 

And bear the treasure home. — Whittier. 

By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

THE COLORING OF THE GRAPES. 

|AY by day we watched them taking on the purple, 
Lying with the sunshine in a golden mist, 
Sending out their fragrance with a royal bounty, 
Happy in their beauty simply to exist. 

Through the long dry summer, broad green leaves had shaded 
Tiny growing clusters from the parching heat; 

Gathering, from earth and sky, good and air and moisture; 
Bathing them in evening dew, just to make them sweet. 

Red and white and purple globes of wondrous texture, 
Grown and sealed and colored by no mortal hand; 

Types of peace and plenty — nature's perfect working; 
Blessings on the vineyards of our favored land ! 

— Sarah K. Bolton. (From ''Chautauquan.") 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL, 17 



MAIZE FOR THE NATION'S EMBLEM 

UPON a hundred thousand plains 
Its banners rustle in the breeze, 
O'er all the nation's wide domains, 
From coast to coast betwixt the seas. 

It storms the hills and fills the vales. 

It marches like an army grand. 
The continent its presence hails, 

Its beauty brightens all the land. 

Far back through history's shadowy page, 
It shines a power of boundless good. 

The people's prop from age to age, 
The one unfailing wealth of food. 

God's gift to the New World's great need, 
That helps to build the nation's strength, 

Up through beginnings rude to lead 
A higher race of men at length. 

How straight and tall and stately stand 
Its serried stalks upright and strong! 

How nobly are its outlines planned ! 
What grace and charm to it belong ! 

What splendid curves in rustling leaves ! 

What richness in its close-set gold ! 
What largess in its clustered sheaves, 

New every year, though ages old ! 

America ! from thy broad breast 

It sprang, beneficent and bright, 
Of all the gifts from heaven the best. 

For the world's succor and delight. 

Then' do it honor, give it praise ! 

A noble ernblem should be ours : — 
Upon thy fair shield set thy maize. 

More glorious than a myriad flowers. 

And let the states their garlands bring, 

Each its own lovely blossom sign ; 
But leading all, let Maize be king, 
Holding its place by right divine. 

— Cclla TJiaxtcr. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. 



18 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



HARVEST HOME IN ENGLAND. 

AT this Thanksgiving time let us stop for a day or so in 
England, the home of the Pilgrims. The harvest of 
wheat, oats, barley and flax has been gathered. The 
apples, pumpkins and vegetables are safely stored for winter. 
With hearts full of thanksgiving to God for their abundant 
crops, the people have their Harvest Home. This is a church 
celebration and is held on Sunday. It mlay not be on the 
same day throughout all England, but is held' as soon as the 
liarvest is ended. For a day or two before the Harvest Home, 
"the people are busy trimming the church. Every . nook is 
decorated with sheaves of grain and brilliant autumn leaves. 
The altar rail is quite concealed with festoons of scarlet vines. 
Rosy-cheeked apples and big yellow pumpkins smile at us 
from every corner. On Sunday the church is filled to over- 
flowing. The lessons, sermon, and indeed the whole service 
is ©ne of praise and thanksgiving to God for the bountiful 
harvest. Can you not almost hear them sing that grand old 
harvest hymn? 

"Come, ye thankful people, come." 
Is this not a beautiful custom? Don't you think that thfe 
Pilgrims, when they had gathered their crops the first year 
and held their first Thanksgiving Day in America, must have 
remembered the Harvest Home in the land from which they 
came? 

ENGLISH SONG-HARVEST HYMN. 



C 



OME, ye thankful people, come, 
Raise the song of harvest homie ; 
All is safely gathered in. 
Ere the winter storms begin. 
God, our Maker, doth provide 
For our wants to be supplied ; 
Come to God's own temple, come, 
Raise the song of harvest home." 

—Marie Willard. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 19 



GAMBIA AND THE BRAZIL NUTS. 

COME with me now to another home. You have been m 
this country before, I think. See if you remember. 
A bright sun, a wealth of vegetation, briUiant flowers, 
and birds which in gayness of coloring rival the flowers. 
There are twisting vines, rubber trees, monkeys, — yes, I see 
that you know now where you are; but this time we will go 
farther back from the river bank, where it is slightly cooler 
and where the vegetation is less dense. 

Here is a home. The roof is thatched with dry grass, and 
bamboo is used for walls. Not an elegant home by any means, 
but here lives Gambia, a bright-eyed little boy with brown 
skin. He has just come outside to gaze wonderingly at us. 
A cluster of palm trees shade the hut, and a very pleasant 
spot it is. Gambia will tell us, if we ask him, that tomorrow 
his father is going on a short journey, to be gone several 
weeks, and has promised to take him along this time, as a rare 
treat. 

We will watch them start, early in the morning, while it 
is yet dark, for it will be much easier to travel when it is 
cool. The load consists mainly of large bags, rough axes, 
and food. Before noon they have reached a forest of giant 
trees ; very, very tall ones. Gambia's father looks anxiously 
up at the large round balls almost hidden by the leaves and 
says in his language, "We must hurry, my son, and build our 
house, for the nuts are nearly ripe and in a day or so will 
be falling." 

Two days are spent with hard work and the hut is finished, 
with a very strong roof, the reason for which you will soon 
see. That night after the last bit of work was done, and all 
things had been carried inside, Gambia and his father stood 
at the door looking out into the fast increasing darkness. The 
father gives a start and says, "We have done well to hurry. 
There will be a strong wind tonight and the nuts are ripe 
enough to fall. Do not leave the hut again until I give you 
permission. Hear the wind rising now." Gambia says noth- 
ing, but looks through the forest whose branches are so far 
above that he can see only the huge trunks ; but he hears 
the wind howling through the trees, and he gladly turns with 
his father back into the hut. They build a fire, bake some 
small cakes and have some cocoanuts for supper. Not long 
after this they are both sleeping soundly and do not waken 
until morning. Not even the fierce raging of the wind storm, 
nor the falling branches of the trees disturb them. 



20 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

When morning comes the wind is much more quiet, and as 
they stand again at the door, Gambia is perfectly astonished 
at the change which has been wrought in one night. The 
ground is covered with branches and balls, which lie at least 
eight inches deep. Gambia would have rushed out to pick 
one up, but his father duIIs him quietly back with a sharp 
reminder of last night's warning; and just at that moment 
a nut falls very near the door from a branch so high above 
their heads that the force gained by falling so far, added to 
its weight, sends it down into the ground and there it lies 
almost buried in the earth, Gambia's father goes out and 
brings in just one ball for the boy to examine, but neither 
of them venture out again until the wind has quite ceased, 
for one would not care to be struck by so heavy missiles. 

By noon all wind has died down and they go out and fill 
the sacks which are so heavy, when full, that it is hard to 
drag them into the hut. At night both are very tired, but the 
father is in excellent humor, for they have gathered a fine 
pile of nuts, and the season promises to be successful. They 
do not have to work so hard again for many days, for there 
is very little wind and there is only the daily fall of the nuts 
as they ripen. These must be picked, although at such great 
risk that Gambia is not allowed to help, but he has found 
work inside. With a stone he breaks off the outside shell 
and loosens the nuts within, which are packed so ciusely 
that, try as hard as you might, you could not fit them back 
again. Sixteen or eighteen nuts are in a single case and each 
nut has its own three-sided shell; so you see why they mide 
■ such a heavy ball. 

This is where the Brazil nuts grow, and this is how they 
are gathered ; and this, too, is the danger which threatens 
all the gatherers. I saw some children eating Brazil nuts 
yesterday ("nigger toes" they called them), but none of 
them knew about the harvest in Brazil. 

But this is not all the story. At the end of the season, 
when the nuts have ceased falling and have been taken from 
the large shell, men come with donkeys and carry away the 
sacks, and very glad is Gambia to go home again. His 
mother welcomes him joyfully, for she know?; through how 
much danger he has passed. In a few days the nuts will be 
carried to a city by the sea shore. A large steamer will bring 
them to us, and miany children in many lands will eat the 
nuts during winter evenings. Perhaps Gambia in this way 
will help to prepare a part of your Christmas feast of nuts. 

— Alice Hamblin. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 21 

HAYTIi-SUGAR. CANE. 

HA Y T rS father is very poor, and has to work hard on 
a sugar plantation. He sets the plants in rows and has to 
hoe and weed them, until they are high enough to shade 
their roots ; after which they can be left alone until ripe. 

When ripe, the stalks are a light golden yellow, with a 
streak of red here and there. The top ir^ dark green, with 
long narrow leaves, much like those of a corn stalk. From 
the center grows a silvery stem two feet high, from the top 
of which comes a white fringed plume almost lilac-colored. 
Just think how beautiful that must be under a bright sun 
with a gentle breeze waving the tops! 

Hayti's master owns miles upon miles of the bright golden 
green sugar cane, and here and there are clusters of low 
buildings where the people live who work in the .fields. 

Hayti lives in one of these houses, and near by is the tall 
white chimney of the sugar mill, from which issues the thick 
black smoke, just as comes the smoke from the stack of a 
steamboat. Hayti has a garden of sweet potatoes, and behind 
the cabin are chickens and pigs. A little to one side is the 
master's low white house, surrounded by beautiful shade 
trees. On a sturdy pony the master rides about the field 
which is alive with people of Hayti's color. 

About the first of December, they begin to cut the canes. 
This means hard work, for it must not be left too long on 
the fields after it is ripe. Both men and women have to' 
work early and late ; and so hard that at the end of the sea- 
son they are nearly worn out, and oxen often die from over- 
work in the hot sun. 

Only four or five hours are allowed for sleep, and while 
some are sleeping, the rest work, so that the mill is not idle 
for a single hour while the season lasts. 

The men have been divided into gangs. One gang cuts 
the cane, which is now about as large as a walking-stick. 
They use sharp knives which resemble swords. Others load! 
the stalks upon ox carts, and still others drive the loads to 
the mill and feed the cane to the great iron crushes. From 
under the machine pours forth a constant stream of liquid, 
thick and jelly-like. 

An iron pipe carries it to the boilers, where it is boilea 
and purified. After the crushing, children help to spread 
the cane where it can dry; for it will be good to burn. The 



22 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

juice is boiled until it is sugar, and being in large lumps it 
has to be crushed. Now it is ready to be sent away, either 
in bags or in hogsheads. 

There is but one sugar crop a year. In some countries 
it ripens faster, and the harvest lasts only eight weeks ; but 
here in Hayti's home, it is four months in ripening. 

Now, when you eat sugar, will you not think of little 
Hayti, who perhaps at this very moment is working for you? 

— Alice Hamhlin. 

Note : — Many such simple stories may be written by the 

teacher, and used as reproduction stories. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 



23 



MERRY AUTUMN DAYS. 



Dickens. 



C. H. CONGDON. 



^^rqz=Eizz=:i^z=3i3=i'=^3=::l=:5=::i=E:T 



■0~- 



I 

1. Oh hail the mer - ry autumn days When leaves are 

2. 'Tis pleas-ant on a fine spring morn To see the 

3. Then hail to mer - ry autumn days Who cut on 




turn-ing red Because they're far more beau-ti - ful Than 
buds expand, 'Tis pleasant in the summertime To 
all the leaves And make them all so beau-ti - ful That 



^'' 



!Emi^i 



an 

see 

no 




y one has said. We hail the mer - ry 

the fruit - ful land 'Tis pleas-ant on a 

one o'er them grieves Then hail the mer - ry 



_L_J 1 1 1 ^^ ^ U- ^«- 

.a — , m gi a ^_fl — g_« — :}0 — uu_ 




j< — I — # 

— p 

harv - est time The gay 
win - ter's night To sit 
harv - est time The gay 



—I i ^1 1 — ^ 




est of the year, 
a - round the blaze, 
est of the year, 



The 
But 
The 






time of rich and bounteous crops Rejoicing and good cheer, 
what are joys like these my boys To mer-ry au-tumn days? 
time of rich and bounteouscropsRejoicingand good cheer. 
Bypennissionof C. H. Congdon. 



PROGRAMME. 

HAR.VEST IN MANY LANDS 

Recitation : From Whittier's "Autumn Festival." 

And we, to-day, amidst our flowers 

And fruits, have come to our own again 

The blessings of the autumn hours, 
The early and the latter rain ! 

To see our Father's hand once more 
Reverse for us the plenteous horn 

Of autumn, filled and running o'er 

With fruit, and flower, and golden corn ! 

Once more the liberal year laughs out 
O'er richer stores than gems of gold ; 

Once more with harvest song and shout 
Is Nature's bloodless triumph told. 



And let these altars, wreathed with flowers 
And piled with fruits, awake again 

Thanksgivings for the golden hours, 
The early and the latter rain ! 

Song: O, the Merry Harvest Time. — Geo. Webb. 

Recitation : The Song of the Harvest. — Washburn. 

Topics : 

The Cotton Harvest. 

The Harvest of Brazil Nuts. (See Gambia and the 
Brazil Nuts. — Alice Hamblin, page 19.) 

The Harvest of Grapes. 
Recitation : The Coloring of the Grapes. — Sarah K. Bolton. 

(See page 16.) 
Song: The Song of the Sun. — Jennie Youngs. 
Topics : 

The Harvest of Sugar Cane. (See Hayti — Sugar Cane.-- 
Alice Hamblin, page 21,) 

The Cocoa Harvest, or 

The Tea Harvest. 



SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 25 

Recitation : The Palm-Tree. — Whittier. 
Topics : 

Our Own Country. 
Harvest in New England. 
Reading: Ezra's Thanksgiving out West. — Eugene Field. 
(In "A Little Book of Profitable Tales.") (Chas. 
Scribner's Sons.) or 
An Old Time Thanksgiving. — J. G. Holland. 

Topic : Harvest in the West. 
Recitation : Selection from, 

The Corn Song. — Whittier. (See page 15.) 

The Pumpkin. — Whittier. or 

Maize for the Nation's Emblem. — Celia Thaxter. (See 
page 17.) 

Recitation : The Wind Across the Wheat. — Songster. 

Song : The Happy Farmer. — Schumann, or 

The Merry Autumn Days. — Congdon. (See page 23.) 
Recitation: The Harvest Moon. — Longfellow. (See page 
15.) or 

Autumn. 



v« THE PILGR.IMS. ^ 



INTERMEDIATE G R. A D E S . 

TH E same thought as in Primary grades may be brought 
out with old'er children through the study of the 
Pilgrims. 
A week or more may be profitably spent in the study of 
these people. 

Topics : 

(a) Their home in England. 

(b) Persecutions. 

(c) Removal to Holland and then reasons for leaving^ 
that country. 

(d) The Journey to America. 

(e) Landing at Plymouth Rock. 

(f) Building homes. 

(g) Discouragements, hardships, sickness and famine, 
(h) The first Thanksgiving, 

Reference Books : 

Eggleston's First Book of American History. (Amer- 
ican Book Company.) 

-Montgomery's Beginners' History. (Ginn & Company.) 

Pilgrims and Puritans. — Moore. 

The Pilot of the Mayflower. — Butterworth. 

The Story Hour. — Wiggin & Smith. 

Morning Talks.— Sarah Wiltse. (Houghton, Mifilin & 
Company.) 

The Child's World.— Emilie Poulsson. (Milton Bradley 
Company.) 

The Making of New England. — Drake. 

Colonial Children. — Pratt. (Educational Publishing Co.) 

Stories of Massachusetts. — Pratt. (Educational Publish- 
ing Co.) 

Chronicles of the Prilgrims. — Young. 

Boston Town. — Scudder. 

Old Times in the Colonies. — Coffin. (American Book 
Company.) 

Stories : 

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies — Guerber. (American 
Book Company.) 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 27 

Home Life in Colonial Days. — Alice Morse Earle. (The 

Macmillan. Company.) 
The First Thanksgiving.— "Story Hour." 
Betsey Hull's Wedding.— "Grandfather's Chair/' 
Betty Alden. — Jane Austin. 
Standish of Standish. — Jane Austin. 
The Pilgrims. — Edward Everett. 

The Pilgrims' Easter Lily.— Edward Everett. 

Poems : 

The Landing of the Pilgrims. — Hemans. 

The Twenty-Second Day of December. — Bryant. 

Miles Standish. — Longfellow. 

The Mayflowers.— Whittier. 

The Pilgrims. — Procter. 

Beads for a Name. — Pratt. 

The Pilgrim's Vision. — Holmes. 

The Pilgrim Fathers. — Pierpont. 

Song of the Pilgrims.— Upham. 

The Pilgrims. — John Boyle O'Reilly. 

The Rock of the Pilgrims. — George P. Morris. 

Songs : 

The One Hundredth Psalm. 

The Golden Shore.^ — J. Stainer. 

The Rock of Liberty. — James G. Clark. 

If possible, one of the following pictures should be be- 
fore the children during these lessons : 

The Embarking of the Pilgrims. — Weir. 

The Landing of the Pilgrims. — Rothermel. 

The Departure of The Mayflower. — Hayes. 

The Two Farewells. — Broughton. 

The Pilgrim Exiles. — Broughton. 

(Perry Pictures Company, Maiden, Mass.) 

These Perry Pictures are a delight to children and are 
within the means of any teacher. 

Children should also be told of the National Monument 
at Plymouth. A picture of the monument should be shown 
and the figures explained. 

If relics of the old Plymouth days can be collected, they 
make the lesson much more real ; — spinning-wheel, wearing 
apparel, sword, belt, chairs, cooking utensils, etc. 

During the exercises, a boy and girl dressed as Pilgrims 
may act as ushers. Other children may be dressed as In- 
dians. ■ ■ 



28 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



THE MAYFLOWEILS. 

Note. — The trailing arbutus, or mayflower, grows abuna- 
antly in the vicinity of Plymouth, and was tne first flower 
that greeted the Pilgrims after their fearful winter. 

AD Mayflower! watched by winter stars. 

And nursed by winter gales, 
With petals of the sleeted spars. 

And leaves of frozen sails ! 

What had she in those dreary hours, 

Within her ice-rimmed bay. 
In common with the wild-wood flowers, 

The first sweet smiles of May? 

Yet, "God be praised !" the Pilgrim said, 

Who saw the blossoms peer 
Above the brown leaves, dry and dead, 

"Behold our Mayflower here!" 

God wills it ; here our rest shall be. 

Our years of wandering o'er, 
For us the Mayflower of the sea 
. Shall spread her sails no more." 

O sacred flowers of faith and hope, 

As sweetly now as then 
Ye bloom on many a birchen slope. 

In many a pine-dark glen. 

Behind the sea-wall's rugged length, 

Unchanged, your leaves unfold, 
Like love behind the manly strength 

Of the brave hearts of old. 

So live the fathers in their sons. 

Their sturdy faith be ours, 
And ours the love that overuns 

Its rocky strength with flowers. 

The Pilgrim's wild and! wintry day 

Its shadow round us draws ; 
The Mayflower of his stormy bay. 

Our Freedom's struggling cause. 

But warmer suns erelong shall bring 

To life' the frozen sod; 
And, through dead leaves of hope, shall spring 

Afresh the flowers of God! 

— M^ hit tier. 



SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 29 



SONG OF THE P I L G R. I M S . 

rHE breeze has swelled the whitening sail, 
The blue waves curl beneath the gale 

And, bounding with the wave and wind, 
We leave old England's shores behind : — 
Leave behind our native shore. 
Homes, and all we loved before. 

The deep may dash, the winds may blow, 

The storm spread out its wings of woe, 

Till sailors' eyes can see a shroud 

Hung in the folds of every cloud ; 
Still, as long as life shall last, 
From that shore we'll speed us fast. 

For we would rather never be. 
Than dwell where mind cannot he free, 
But bows beneath a despot's rod. 
Even where it seeks to worship God. 

Blasts of heaven onward sweep ! 

Bear us o'er the troubled deep ! 

O, see what wonders meet our eyes ! 

Another land, and other skies ! 

Columbian hills have met our view ! 

Adieu ! Old England's shores, adieu ! 
Here, at length, our feet shall rest. 
Hearts be free, and homes be blest. 

As long as yonder firs shall spread 

Their green arm's o'er the mountain's head — 

As long as yonder cliffs shall stand. 

Where join the ocean and the land, — 

Shall those cliffs and mountains be 

Proud retreats for liberty. 

—Upham. 



THE R.OCK OF THE PILGR.IMS. 

/\ ROCK in the wilderness welcomed our sires , 
* ^ From bondage far over the dark-rolling sea; 
On that holy altar they kindlecl their fires, 

Jehovah ! which glow in our bosoms for Thee. 



so SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 

Thy blessings descended in sunshine and shower, 
Or rose from the soil that was sown by Thy hand ; 

The mountain and valley rejoiced in Thy power, 
And heaven encircled and smiled on the land. 

The Pilgrims of old the example have given 
Of mild resignation, devotion and love, 

Which beams like a star in the vault of the heaven, 
A beacon-light hung in their mansion above. 

In church and cathedral we kneel in our prayer, — 
Their temple and chapel were valley and hill ; 

But God is the same in the aisle or the air, 
And he is the rock that we lean upon still. 

— George P. Morris. 



LANDING OF THE PILGRIM FATHER.S. 

T^HE breaking waves dashed high 
* On a stern and rock-bound coast ; 

And the woods against a stormy sk}^ 
Their giant branches tossed ; 

And the heavy night hung dark. 

The hills and waters o'er, 
When a band of exiles moored their bark 

On the wild New England shore. 

Not as the conqueror comes. 

They, the true-hearted, came ; — 
Not with the roll of the stirring drums, 
And the trumpet that sings of fame ; — 

Not as the flying come. 

In silence, and in fear ; — 
They shook the depths of the desert's gloom 

With their hymns of lofty cheer. 

Amidst the storm they sang, 

And the stars heard and the sea ; 
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 

To the anthem of the free. 

The ocean-eagle soared 

From his nest by the white wave's foam, 
And the rocking pines of the forest roared : — 

This was their welcome home. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 01 

There were men with hoary hair 

Amidst that pilgrim band : 
Why had they come to wither there. 

Away from their childhood's land? 

There was woman's fearless eye, 

Lit by her deep love's truth ; 
There was manhood's brow serenely high, 

And the fiery heart of youth. 

What sought they thus afar? 

Bright jewels of the mine? 
The wealth of seas? The spoils of war?— 

They sought a faith's pure shrine. 

Ay, call It holy ground, — 

The soil where first they trod ! 
They have left unstained what there they found — 

Freedom to worship God ! 

— Mrs. He mans. 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

HE Pilgrim Fathers — where are they? 

The waves that brought them o'er 
Still roll in the bay, and throw their spray 

As they break along the shore : 
Still roll in the bay, as they rolled that day. 

When the Mayflower moored below, 
When the sea around was black with storms, 

And white the shore with snow. 

The mists, that wrapped the Pilgrim's sleep, 

Still brood upon the tide ; 
And his rocks yet keep their watch by the deep, 

To stay its waves of pride. 
But the snow-white sail, that he gave to the gale, 

When the heavens looked dark, is gone ; — 
And an angel's wing, through an opening cloud. 

Is seen, and then withdrawn. 

The Pilgrim exile — sainted name ! — 

The hill whose icy brow 
Rejoiced, when he came, in the morning's flame, 

In the morning's flame burns now. 
And the moon's cold light, as it lay that night 

On the hillside and the sea. 
Still lies where he lay his houseless head ; — 

But the pilgrim — v/here is he? 



32 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

The Pilgrim Fathers are at rest : 

When summer is throned on high, 
And the world's warm breast is in verdure dressed, 

Go, stand on the hill where they lie. 
The earliest ray of the golden day 

On that hallowed spot is cast; 
And the evening sun, as he leaves the world, 

Looks kindly on that spot last. 

The Pilgrim spirit has not fled : 

It walks in moon's broad light; 
And it watches the bed of the glorious dead, 

With the holy stars by night. 
It watches the bed of the brave who have bled, 

And shall guard this ice-bound shore, 

Tiir the waves of the bay, where the Mayflower lay, 

Shall foam and freeze no more. 

— Pierpont. 



PROGRAMME. 



Recitation : The Song of the Pilgrims. — Upham. 
See page (29) 

Recitation : Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. — Mrs. He- 
mans. (See page 30.) 

Topic: Building Homes. (Quotation from the "Court- 
ship of Miles Standish.") 

"Solid, substantial, of timber rough-hewn from the firs of 

the forest. 
Wood-barred was the door, and the roof was covered with 

rushes ; 
Latticed the windows were, and the window-panes were of 

paper. 
Oiled to admit the light, while wind and rain were excluded'. 
There too he dug a well, and around it planted an orchard : 
Still may be seen to this day some trace of the well and the 

orchard." 
Recitation : The Mayflowers. — Whittier. 

Song : The Rock of Liberty. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 33 

A SONG for the rock, the stern old rock, 
That braved the blasts and the billows' shock. 
It was born with Time on a barren shore. 
And laughed with scorn at the breakers' roar; 
Twas here that fir$t the Pilgrim band 
Came weary up to the foaming strand; 
And the tree they reared in the days gone by. 
It lives, it lives, — and ne'er shall die ! 

Thou firm old rock, in the ages passed 
Thy brow was bleached by the warring blast. 
But thy wintry toil with the wave is o'er, 
And the billows beat thy base no more ! 
Yet countless as thy sands, old rock. 
Are the hardy sons of the Plymouth stock; 
And the tree they reared in the days gone by. 
It lives, it lives, — and ne'er shall die ! 

Then rest, old rock, on the sea-beat shore, 
Our sires are lulled by the ocean's roar! 
'Twas here that first their hymns were heard, 
O'er the startled cry of the white sea-bird ! 
'Twas here they lived ; 'twas here they died, — 
And their forms repose on the green hill's side; 
But the tree they reared in the days gone by, — 
It lives, it lives, — and ne'er shall die ! 

— James Gowdy Clark. 
(D, Lothrop & Co., Boston.) 

Topic: Their Discouragements. 

Recitation : The Pilgrims. — O'Reilly. 

Here where the shore was rugged as the waves, 

Where frozen nature dumb and leafless lay. 

And no rich meadows bade the Pilgrims stay. 

Was spread the symbol of the life that saves : 

To conquer first the outer things ; to make 

Their own advantage, unallied, unbound, 

Their blood the mortar, building from the ground; 

Their care the statutes, making all anew; 

To learn to trust the many, not the few ; 

To bend the mind to discipline; to break 

The bonds of old convention, and forget 

The claims and barriers of class ; to face 

A desert land, a strange and hostile race, 

And conquer both to friendship by the debt 

That nature pays to justice, love and toil. 



34 SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 

Here on this rock, and on this sterile soil,, 

Began the kingdom, not of kings, but men ; 

Began the making of the world again. 

Here centuries sank, and from the hither brink 

A new world reached and raised an old-world link, 

When English hands, by wider vision taught. 

Threw down the feudal bars the Normans brought, 

And here revived, in spite of sword and stake, 

Their ancient freedom of the Wapentake. 

Here struck the seed — the Pilgrim's roofless town — 

Where equal rights and equal bonds were set ; 

Where all the people equal-franchised met ; 

Where doom was writ of privilege and crown ; 

Where human breath blew all the idols down ; 

Where crests were naught, where vulture flags were 

furled 
And common men began to own the world ! 

Song: The One Hundredth Psalm. (Sung by a little 
girl in costume, spinning.) 

Topic : Sickness and Famine. 

"I have been thinking all day," said gently the Puritan 
maiden, 

"Dreaming all night and thinking all day, of the hedge-rows 
of England, — 

They are in blossom now and the country is all like a gar- 
den ; 

Thinking of lanes and fields, and the song of the lark and the 
linnet, 

Seeing the village street, and familiar faces of neigh- 
bors 

Going about as of old, and stopping to gossip together, 

And, at the end of the street, the village church, with the 
ivy 

Climbing the old gray tower, and the quiet graves In the 
churchyard. 

Kind are the people I live with, and dear to me my religion ; 

Still my heart Is so sad, that I wish myself back In Old 
England. 

You will say It Is wrong, but I cannot help It ; I almost 

Wish myself back In Old England, I feel so lonely and 
wretched ! 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 35 

Thereupon answered t.he youth : "Indeed I do not condemn 

you ; 
Stouter hearts than a woman's have quailed in this terrible 

winter." 

"Let not him that putteth his hand to the plow look back- 
wards ; 

Though the plowshare cut through the flowers of life to its 
fountains, 

Though it pass o'er the graves of the dead and the hearts 
of the living, 

It is the will of the Lord; and his mercy endureth forever!" 
— Longfellow. (From "Courtship of Miles Standish.") 

Recitation : The Unknown Grave. — Procter. Or 

The Pilgrims. — Procter. 
Topic : The First Harvest. 

ONTH after month passed away, and in Autumn 
the ships of the merchants 
Came with kindred and friends, with cattle and corn 
for the Pilgrims. 
All in the village was peace ; the men were intent on their 

..labors, 
Bus}^ with hewing and building, with garden-plot and with 

merestead. 
Busy with breaking of glebe, and mowing the grass in the 

meadows. 
Searching the sea for its fish, and hunting the deer in the 
forest." 

"Merrily sang the birds, and the tender voices of women 
Consecrated with hj^mns the common cares of the household."' 
Song: Thanksgiving. Tune, "Come, Thou Fount." 

O the Giver of all blessings 
Let our voices rise in praise 
For the joys and countless mercies 
He hath sent to crown our days ; 
For the homes of peace and plenty. 
And a land so fair and wide, 
For the labor at the noonday, 
And the rest at eventide 



36 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

For the splendor of the forest, 
For the beauty of the hills, 
For the freshness of the meadows 
And a thousand sparkling rills. 
For the blossoms of the springtime 
And the memories they bring, 
For the ripened fruits of autumn, 
Do we thank Thee, O our King. 

For the wealth of golden harvests, 
For the sunlight and the rain, 
For the grandeur of the ocean, 
For the mountain and the plain, 
For the ever changing seasons, 
And the comforts which they bring, 
For Thy love so grand, eternal. 
We would thank Thee, O our King. 

— Wm. G. Park. 

Topic: The First Thanksgiving. — "Stories of the Thirteen 
Colonies." 

Recitation: The Pilgrim Fathers. — Pierpont. (See page 

3I-) 
Song: America. (By the school.) 







f 




U'^ 




Tub Perry Pictures. From painting by Correggio. 

THE HOLY NIGHT. 



CHRISTMAS WITH 
LITTLE ONES. ^ 


THE 



"What is the thought of Christmas? 

Giving, 
What is the heart of Christmas ? 
Love." 



T 



HE Christmas work should be such that these 
thoughts may be made the prominent ones in every 
grade. 

Children always enjoy decorating a Christmas tree. It 
gives the exercises added pleasure and brightens the room. 
Curtains may be drawn and the tree lighted during the ex- 
ercises. The tree may be given to some society or mission 
Sunday school afterwards, and thus do double service. 

There should always be in the room a picture of one 
of the world's famous Madonnas. The Madonna of the 
Chair is very popular with little children. The Bodenhausen 
Madonna is another which always appeals to young children. 
For the primary children, the use of the following stories 
and poems has proved satisfactory : 

Stories : 

The Story of Christmas. — "Story Hour." 

The Story of the Forest. — "Story Hour," 

The Christ-Child.— "Christ-Child Tales." 

The First Christmas Tree. — Eugene Field. (From "A 

Little Book of Profitable Tales.") 
The First Christmas Presents. — Kindergarten Stories, 
The Heart of Christmas. — Jennie Youngs. (The Wyatt 

Company.) 
How Dot heard the Messiah. — Butterworth. (From 

"Christmas Book.") (D. Lothrop Co.) 
The Loving Child. — Andrea Hofer, (From "Christ-Child 

Tales.")^ 
The Christmas Angel. — Katharine Kyle. (Little, Brown & 

Co.) 

Poems : 

The Sparrow, — Celia Thaxter, 
While Shepherds Watched. — Margaret Deland. 
Santa Claus and the Mouse.— "Child's World." 
The Empty Stockings.— "Ladies' Home Journal," 



38 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Why. — Eugene Field. 

Piccola. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Loving-Cup. — Margaret Sangster. 

Christmas Wreaths. — Andrea Hofer. (From "Christ- 
Child Tales. ') 

Christmas Everywhere. — Phillips Brooks. 

O Little Town of Bethlehem. — PhilHps Brooks. 

Hang Up the Baby's Stocking. — Emily Huntington Mil- 
ler. 

The Good Little Sister. — Phoebe Cary. 

The Little Christmas Tree. — Susan Coolidge. 

Merry Christmas. — Louisa M. Alcott. 

Songs : 

Shine Out, O Blessed Star. (Oliver Ditson Co.) 

A Wonderful Tree. (Wm. A. Pond & Co.) 

Christmas Bells. — Alice Jean Cleator. 

Santa Claus Is Coming. 

Once a Little Baby Lay. — (From "Child Garden.") 

Luther's Cradle Hymn. 

There's a Song in the Air. — Holland. 

WHY? 

V^lj^HY do bells for Christmas ring? 
^* Why do little children sing? 

Once a lovely shining star, - 
Seen by shepherds from afar, 
Gently moved until its light 
Made a manger cradle bright. 
There a darling baby lay. 
Pillowed soft upon the hay ; 
And its mother sang and smiled, 
"This is Christ, the noly Child." 

Therefore, bells for Christmas ring. 
Therefore, little children sing. 

— Eugene Field. 

THE LITTLE CHR.ISTMAS TREE. 

' ■ ' HE Christmas day was coming, the Christmas eve 
* drew near ; 

The fir-trees they were talking low, at midnight cold 
and clear. 
And this is what the fir-trees said, all in the pale moonlight: 
"Now which of us shall chosen be to grace the holy night?" 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 3'J 

The tall trees and the goodlv trees, raised each a lofty head. 
In glad and secret confidence, though not a word they said ; 
But one, the baby of the band, could not restrain a sigh; 
"You all will be approved," he said, "but oh, what chance 
have I?" 

"I am so small, so very small, no one will mark or know 

How thick and green my needles are, how true my branch- 
es grow ; 

Few toys or candles could I hold, but heart and will are 
free. 

And in my heart of hearts I know, I am a Christmas tree." 

The Christmas angel hovered near; he caught the grieving 

word, 
And laughing low he hurried forth, with love and pity stirred. 
He sought and found St. Nicholas, the dear old Christmas 

Saint, 
And in his fatherly, kind ear rehearsed the fir-tree's plaint. 

Saints are all-powerful, we know, so it befell that day 
That, ax on shoulder, to the grove, a woodman took his way. 
One baby girl he had at home, and he went forth to find 
A little tree, as small as she, just suited to his mind. 

Oh, glad and proud the baby fir, amidst his brethren tall 
To be thus chosen and singled out, the first among them all ! 
He stretched his fragrant branches, his little heart beat fast. 
He was a real Christmas tree, he had his wish at last. 

One large and shining apple, with cheeks of ruddy gold. 
Six tapers and a tiny doll, were all that he could hold. 
The baby laughed, the baby crowed, to see the tapers bright ; 
The forest baby felt the joy, and shared in the delight. 

And when at last the tapers died, and when the baby slept. 

The little fir, in silent night, a patient vigil kept. 

Though scorched and brown its needles were, it had no 
heart to grieve ; 

"I have not lived in vain," he said; "Thank God for Christ- 
mas Eve." 

— Susan Coolidge. (From "St. Nicholas.") 



40 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

CHRISTMAS BELLS. 

4 4 ^^ RE you waking?" shout the breezes 
•* ^ To the tree tops waving high, 
"Don't you hear the happy tidings 
Whispered to the earth and skv? 
Have you caught them in your dreaming, 

Brook and rill in snowy dells? 
Do you know the joy we bring you 

In the merry Christmas bells?" 
Ding, dong! ding, dong ! Christmas bells! 

"Are you waking, flowers that slumber 

In the deep and frosty ground? 
Do you hear what we are breathing, 

To the listening world around? 
For we bear the sweetest story 

That the glad year ever tells : 
How He loved the little children, — 

He who brought the Christmas bells !" 
Ding, dong! ding, dong! Christmas bells! 

— Selected. 

MEILR.Y CHRISTMAS. 

WN'tlie hush of early morning 
* When the red burns through the grav. 
And the wintry world lies waiting 

For the glory of the day, 
When we hear a fitful rustling 

Just without upon the stair, 
See two small white phantoms coming, 
Catch the gleam of sunny hair. . 

Are they Christmas fairies stealing. 

Rows of little socks to fill ? 
Are they angels floating hither 

With their message of good will? 
What sweet ■ spells are these elves weaving, 

As like larks thev chirp and sing? 
Are these palms of peace from heaven 

That these lovely spirits bring? 



SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 41 

. Rosy feet upon the threshold. 

Eager faces peeping through, 
With the first red ray of sunshine. 

Chanting cherubs come in view : 
Mistletoe and gleaming holly, 

Symbols of a blessed day. 
In their chubby hands they carry, 

Streammg all along the way. 

Well we know them, never weary 

Of this innocent surprise, — 
Waiting, watching, listening always. 

With full hearts and tender eyes, 
While our little household angels. 

White and golden in the sun. 
Greet us with the sweet old welcome, — 

"Merry Christmas, every one!" 

—Louisa M. Alcott. 

WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED. 

LIKE small curled feathers, white and soft, 
The little clouds went by. 
Across the moon, and past the stars, 
And down the western sky ; 
In upland pastures, where the grass 
With frosted dew was white. 
Like snowy clouds the young sheep lay 
That first, best Christmas night. 

The shepherds slept, and glimmering faint, 
With twist of thin _ blue smoke. 
Only their fire's crackling flames 
The tender silence broke — 

Save when a young lamb raised his head, 
Or, when the night wind blew, 
A nesting bird would softly stir. 
Where dusky olives grew. 

With finger on her solemn lip 

Night hushed the shadowy earth, 

And only stars and angels saw 

The little Saviour's birth ; 

Then came such flash of silver light 

Across the bending skies. 

That wondering shepherds woke, and hid 

Their frightened, dazzled eyes. 



42 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And all their gentle, sleepy flock 

Looked up, then slept again, 

Nor knew the light that dimmed the stars 

Brought endless peace to men. 

Nor even heard the gracious words 

That down the ages ring — 

"The Christ is born ! the Lord has come. 

Good-will on earth to bring!" 

Then o'er the moonlit, misty fields. 

Dumb with the world's great joy, 

The shepherds sought the white-walled town 

Where lay the baby boy ; 

And oh, the gladness of the world, 

The glory of the skies. 

Because the longed-for Christ looked up 

In Mary's happy eyes! 

— Margaret Deland. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.. 

PROGRAMME. 

Recitations Why? — Eugene Field. (See page 38.) 
Story: The Story of Christmas. (Told by a child.) 
Recitation : While Shepherds Watched. Margaret De- 
land. (See page 41.) 
Song : Shine Out, O Blessed Star I 
Recitation : O Little Town of Bethlehem. 

^\ LITTLE town of Bethlehem! 
^^ How still we see thee lie : 

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 
The silent stars go bv. 
Yet in thv dark streets shineth 

The everlasting Lieht ; 
The hopes and fears of all the years 
Are met in thee to-night. 

How silently, how silently, 

The wondrous gift is given ; 
So God imparts to human hearts 

The blessings of His heaven. 
No ear may hear His coming. 

But in this world of sin, 
Where meek souls will receive Him, still 

The dear Christ enters in. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 43 

For Christ is born of Mary, 

And gathered all above. 
While mortals sleep, the angels keep 

Their watch of wondering love. 
O morning stars, together 

Proclaim the holy birth ; 
And praises sing to God the King ! 

And peace to men on earth. 

O Holy Child of Bethlehem! 

Descend to us, we pray. 
Cast out our sin and enter in, 

Be born in us to-day. 
We hear the Christmas angels 

The great, glad tidings tell. 
Oh, come to us, abide with us, 

Our Lord Emmanuel. 

— Phillips Brooks. 

Quotations : Christmas Thoughts. 

For they who think of others most 
Are the happiest folks that live. 

— Phoebe Gary. 

Only a loving word, but it made the angels smile ; 
And what it is worth perhaps we'll know, 
After a little while. 

Lillian Grey. 

The best of Christmas joy, 
Dear little girl or boy. 
That comes on that merry-making day, 
Is the happiness of giving 
To another child that's living 
Where Santa Claus has never found his way. 
— (From "Youth's Companion.") 

Song : Santa Claus is Coming. 

Quotations: Christmas Thoughts. (Continued.) 

Who gives to whom hath naught been given. 
His gift in need, though small indeed, 
Is as the grass blades' wind-blown seed, 
As large as earth, and rich as heaven. 

— IVhittier. 

O Christmas is a joll}^ time 
When forests hang with snow. 
And other forests hang with toys, 
And lordly yule logs glow. 



i4 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And Christmas is a solemn time, 
Because beneath the star, 
The first great Christmas gift was given 
To all men near and far. 

— Selected. 

'Tis the time of year for the open hand, 
And the tender heart and true, 
When a rift of heaven has cleft the skies, 
And the saints are looking through. 
The flame leaps high when the hearth was drear. 
And sorrowful eyes look bright. 
For a message dear, that all may hear, 
Is borne on the Christmas light. 
— Margaret Sangster. (From "The Lovfng Cup.") 

True happiness, if understood, 

Consists alone in doing good. — Somerville. 

Story : Story of the First Christmas Tree. — Eugene Field. 
Recitation : The Little Christmas Tree. — Susan Coolidge. 
(See page 38.) 

Song: A Wonderful Tree. 

Reproduction Story : The Good Little Sister. — Phoebe Cary. 

Or The Loving Child.— ''Christ-Child Tales." 
Recitation: Merry Christmas. — Louisa M. Alcott. (See 
page 40.) 

Reproduction Story: Little Gottlieb's Letter to Santa Glaus. 
— Phoebe Cary. 

Song: Christmas Bells. 



ING, O bells, in gladness, 

Tell of joy to-day; 
Ring and swing o'er all the world so wide. 
Banish thoughts of sadness. 
Drive all grief away. 
For it is the Merry Christmas tide. 

Chorus. 

Ring, O bells, from spire and swelling dome. 
Ring and bid the peaceful ages come ; 

Banish thoughts of sadness, 

Drive all grief away. 
For it is the Merry Christmas Day. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL i5 

Ring, O bells, the story 
From the ages far; 
Of the Christmas joy and song and light; 
How the wondrous glory 
Of the Christmas star 
Led the shepherds onward through the night. 

Ring, O bells, in gladness • 

Of the Savioyr King; 

May your silver chimings never cease; 
Banish thoughts of sadness 
And all nations bring: 

• Glorious dawning of the Day of Peace. 

— Alice Jean Cleat or. 



CHRISTMAS IN THE IN 
TERMEDIATE GRADES 



ECHOES FROM OTHER LANDS. 

THE study of children's Christmas in other lands is an 
interesting and profitable study to be correlated with 
the geography work as the Christmas season draws 
near, especially with classes that are taking up the relation 
of the countries. 

The children may take imaginary journeys to the dif- 
ferent countries, joining in their Christmas festivities. 

After a class reproduction has been written, the best pa- 
per may be laid aside to be used in the Christmas program. 
The value of pictures in this work cannot be over es- 
timated, and a good supply of them should be on hand. 
A chart containing the Madonnas of the different countries 
is invaluable at this time. 

Children may appear in the costumes of the countries 
represented, and any valuable relics from such countries 
should be collected. 

Note. — Among the Perry Pictures are excellent repro- 
ductions of the world's famous Madonnas. 
For Reading and Reproduction : 

Christmas Carol. — Dickens. England. 

Or 
The Angel's Story. — Adelaide Procter. 
Piccola. — Celia Thaxter. France. 

The Sparrows. — Celia Thaxter. Norway. 

Or 
The Christmas Sheaf. — Phoebe Cary. Norway. 

Little Gottlieb. — Phoebe Cary. Germany. 

Or 
Christmas Time for Louise. — (From "Each and All") 

Germany. 
The Fir-Tree. — Hans Andersen. Denmark. 

The Beautiful Bells. — Elizabeth HaiTison. Belgium. 
(From "In Story Land.") 
Or 
The Dog of Flanders. — Ouida. Belgium. 

St. Anthony and the Christ-Child. — Andrea Hofer. 

Italy. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 47 

Christmas in Other Lands. — Ahce W. Cooley. 

(The Wyatt Company.) 
Christmas Carol. — Wiggin. United States. 

The Coming of the Prince. — Eugene Field. (From "A 

Little Book of Profitable Tales.") 
Christmas in Germany. 
Christmas in Switzerland. 
Christmas in Holland. 
Christmas in Italy. 
Christmas in France. 
Christmas in Norway. 

Estes and Lauriat, PubHshers, Boston. 

Poems : 

Once In Royal David's City. — (From "Open Sesame," 

Vol. I.) 
Christmas Treasures. — Eugene Field. 
Christmas Bells. — Longfellow. 
Ring Out, Wild Bells. — Tennyson. 
Christmas Bells. — Tenn3^son. 
Tiny Tim. — Sangster. 

The Christmas Glow. — Charles Crandall. 
The Christmas Message. — (From "Each and All.") 
Three Kings. — Longfellow. 
The Loving-Cup. — Margaret Sangster. 

Songs : 

Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning. — (From 

"Ladies' Home Journal.") 
Joy to the World. — Isaac Watts. 
The Children's Te Deitm. — Henry Tucker. (George Root 

Co.) 
Christmas Bells. — Longfellow. 
In a Manger Laid So Lowly. — William Bradbury. 

WHAT THE POETS SAY OF CHR.ISTMAS. 

¥ HEARD the bells on Christmas Day 
■* Their old, familiar carols play, 
And wild and sweet 
The words repeat. 
Of "Peace on earth, good-will to men." 

— Longfellozu. 

The yearly course that brings this day about, 
Shall never see it but a holiday. 



-Shakespeare. 



There's a song in the air. 

There's a star in the sky. 
There's a mother's deep prayer, 



48 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And a baby's low cry ; 
And the star rains its fire, 

While the beautiful sing, 
For the manger, of Bethlehem 

Cradles a king. — J. G. Holland. 

This happy day, whose risen sun 
Shan not set through eternity ; 
This holy day when Christ the Lord 

Took on him our humanity. 
For little children everywhere 

A joyous season still we make; 
We bring our precious gifts to them. 
Even for the dear Child Jesus' sake. 

— Phoebe Gary. 
O little town of Bethlehem, 
How still we see thee lie! 
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 

The silent stars go by. 
Yet in thy dark street shineth 

The everlasting Light, 
The hopes and fears of all the years 

Are met in thee to-night. — Phillips Brooks. 
Blow bugles of battle, the marches of peace, 
East, west, north and south, let the long quarrels 

cease. 
Sing the song of great joy that the angels began. 
Sing of glory to God, and of good-will to man. 

— Whittier. 
The time draws near the birth of Christ ; 

The moon is hid ; the night is still. 
The Christmas bells from, hill to hill 
Answer each other in the mist. — Tennyson. 

Again at Christmas did we weave 
The iiolly round the Chrislimas hearth. 

— Tennyson. 
The glory from the manger shed, 

Wherein the lowly Saviour lay, 
Shines as a halo round the head 

Of every human child to-day. — Phoebe Gary. 

Sing, O my heart ! 

Sing thou in rapture this dear morn 

Whereon the blessed Prince is born ! 

And as thy song shall be of love, 

So let my deeds be charity, — 

By the dear Lord that reigns above, 

By Him that died' upon the tree. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 49 

By this fair morn 
Whereon is born 
The Christ that saveth all and me ! 

— Eugene Field. (From "A Christmas Hymn.") 

It is His birthday, — His, the only One 

Who ever made life's meaning wholly plain ; 
Dawn is He to our night ! No longer vain 

And purposeless our onward struggling years ; - 
The hope He bringeth overfloods our fears, — 

Now do we know the Father through the Son ! 
O earth, O heart, be glad on this glad morn ! 

God is with man ! Life, life to us is born ! 

— Lucy Lay com. 

Awake, elad heart ! get up and sing I 

It is the birthday of the King. — J^aughn. 

Heap on more wood ! the wind is chill ! 

But let it whistle as it will. 
We'll keep our merry Christmas still. — Scott, 

"What means the glory round our feet," 
The Magi mused, ''more bright than morn?" 

And! voices cnanted clear and sweet, 

"To-day, the Prince of Peace is born!" 

**What means that star," the shepherds said, 
"That brightens through the rocky glen?'' 
And anarels, answering overhead, 

Sang, "Peace on earth, good-will to men." 

Lozif^ll. 
Wherever children love Him, 
The loveliest child of all, 
Wherever men, adoring, 
Before the Saviour fall, 
Wherever tender mothers 
Beside their dear ones stand, 
The Father sends his angels down. 
And names it Christmas land. — J. G. Holland. 

'And the bright feast of Christmas is dawning." 
The moon that now is shining 

In skies so blue and bright, 
Shone ages since on shepherds 
Who watched their flocks by night. 
There was no sound upon the earth. 

The azure air was still, 
The- sheep, in quiet clusters, lay 

Upon the grassy hill. 



50 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

When, lo ! a white-winged angel 

The watchers stood before, 
And told how Christ was born on earth 

For mortals to adore ; 
He bade the trembling shepherds 

Listen, nor be afraid, 
And told how in a manger 

The glorious Child was laid. 

When suddenly in the Heavens 

Appeared an angel band, 
(The while in reverent wonder 

The Syrian shepherds stand). 
And all the bright host chanted 

Words that shall never cease, 
Glory to God in the highest. 

On earth, good-will and peace! 

— Adelaide Procter. 



CHRISTMAS PROVERBS AND SAYINGS. 

"Pass on to others the kindnesses you daily receive." 
"Help given promptly is twice given." 
"Scatter seeds of kindness." 

"Strive to leave the world better than you find it." 
"The hand of the giver is ever above that of the receiver," 
"The heart that loveth most hath most, of sweetness and 
content." 

"Daily on the hearts of others we write our autographs." 
"The bravest are the tenderest, the loving are the daring." 

Of all dear days is Christmas day 

The dearest and the best ; 
Still at its dawn the angels sing 

Their song of peace and rest. 
And yet the blessed Christ-child comes 

And walks the shining way, 
Which brings to simple earthly homes 

Heaven's light on Christmas Day. 
— Margaret Sangster. (From "Of All Dear Days.") 

Remember the manger so cold and bare, 
The breath of kine in the chilly air, 

And think how the child that shivering lay, 
Doth warm the hearts of the world to-day ! 

The great white star that bent on earth 
Kindled the yule-log on each hearth. 
— CharUs H. Crandall. (From "Wayside Music") 



w 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 51 

STAR- OF THE EAST. 

STAR of the East, that long ago 
Brought wise men on their way 
Where, angels singing to and fro, 

The child of Bethlehem laj^ — 
Above that Syrian hill afar 
Thou shinest out to-night, O star! 

Star of the East, the night were drear 

But for the tender grace 
That with thy glory comes to cheer 

Earth's loneliest, darkest place ; 
For by that charity we see 

Where there is hope for all and me. 

Star of the East ! show us the way 

In wisdom undefiled 
To seek that manger out and lay 

Our gifts before the child — 
To bring our hearts and offer them 

Unto our King in Bethlehem ! 

— Engjne Field. 

THE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE. 

E bear the Christmas message 

Brought to us so long ago. 
Why have the centuries kept it fresh? 

Why do we prize it so? 

Because it is rich with the gold of love 

That with bright, exhaustless flow, _ 
From unfailing source in the Heart Divine, 

Supplies our hearts below. 

And it tells of the tender, human bond, 

Since ever the world began. 
For it teaches the Fatherhood of God, 

The brotherhood of man. 

But how can we carry the tidings. 

Make each man as loving and true 
To the poor, the oppressed and the lowly, 

As they are to me and to you? 

Let them shine in thought and word and deed, 

As we work out the heavenly plan; 
And, blessed by the Fatherhood of God, 

Prove the brotherhood of man. ^ 

— Jane Andrews. (From "Each and All. ') 



52 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

CHRISTMAS EVERYWHERE. 

TJ^ VERYWHERE, everywhere, Christmas to-night ! 

^-^ Christmas in lands of the fir-tree and pine, 
Christmas in lands of the palm-tree and vine, 
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white, 
Christmas where cornfields lie sunny and bright. 

Christmas where children are hopeful and gay, 
Christmas where old men are patient and gray, 
Christmas where peace, like a dove in his flight. 
Broods o' er brave men in the thick of the fight ; 
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night! 

For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all; 
No palace too great, and no cottage too small. 

— Phillips Brooks. 

PROGR.AMME. 

Song: Christmas Bells. — Longfellow. 

Reading: The Christmas Message. — (From "Each and All.") 

(See page Si-) 
Story : Christmas with Tiny Tim. — Dickens. 
Recitation : Tmy Tim. — Margaret Sangster. Or 

God Bless Us. — James Whitcomb Riley. 
Recitation or 

Story : Piccola. — Celia Thaxter. 
Recitation or 
Story : The Sparrow. — Celia Thaxter. Or 

The Christmas Sheaf. — Phoebe Cary. 
Story: Little Gottlieb. — Alice Cary. 
Story: The Beautiful Bells. — Elizabeth Harrison. (From 

'Tn Story Land.") 
Reading : St. Anthony and the Christ-Child. — Andrea Hof- 

er. (From '^Christ-Child Tales.") 
Story or 
Reading : Carol Bird's Christmas. — Kate Douglas Wiggin. 

(From "Birds' Christmas Carol.") 
Song: My Ain Countrie. 
Quotations: What the Poets Say of Christmas. (See 

page 47.) 
Reading: The Coming of the Prince. — Eugene Field. (From 

"A Little Book of Profitable Tales.'') 
Recitation: Christmas Everywhere. — Phillips Brooks. (See 

above.) 
Song : Joy to the World. — Isaac Watts. 



OUR. HEROES AND OUR FLAG. 



PR.IMAR.Y GR.ADES. 

FEBRUARY TWENTY-SECOND. 

^\ NE of the first steps in teaching any good thing is 
^^ presenting the ideal. In teaching patriotism to Httle 
children, we must present ideals that will instill in- 
to their hearts an honest love and respect for heroic deeds. 
They must be led to see that such deeds are not confined 
to soldiers, but that heroism may be shown in everyday life, 
and that even very young children may be heroic. They 
should also be led to see that being a heroic boy or girl leads 
to becoming a heroic man or woman, and that by being brave 
and courageous in everyday life, we serve our country and 
honor our flag. In the story of the life of Lincoln and in 
that of Washington, we find many illustrations of this. 
Such poems as "Our Heroes," and "The Wishes," also help 
to teach this kind of patriotism, — the patriotism of good liv- 
ing. 

The following programme is intended for the youngest 
primary children, and the selections are chosen largely from 
those poets who seem to come nearest to childhood — the Gary 
sisters. Celia Thaxter and Eugene Field. 

OUR HEROES. 

IJERE'S a hand to the boy who has courage 
■* * To do what he knows to be right ; 

When he falls in the way of temptation 

He has a hard battle to fight. 
Who strives against self and his comrades, 

Will find a miOst powerful foe ; 
All honor to him if he conquers, 

A cheer for the boy who says "No !" 

There's many a battle fought daily 

The world knows nothing about ; 
There's manv a brave little soldier 

Whose strength puts a legion to rout. 
And he who fights sin single-handed 

Is more of a hero, I say. 
Than he who leads soldiers to battle. 

And conquers b}^ arms in the fray. 

Be steadfast, my boy, when you're tempted, 
And do what you know to be right ; 



54 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Stand firm bv the colors of manhood, 
And you will o'ercome in the fight. 

"The right," be your battle cry ever 
In waging the warfare of life ; 

And God, who knows who are the heroes, 
Will give you the strength for the strife. 

— PJioebe Gary. 

A H e;ro . 

To be a hero does not mean 
To march away 
At sounding of the trumpet call 

To war's array; 
It does not mean a lifeless form 

'Neath foeman's dart ; 
To be a hero simply means 

To do your part. 
Perhaps you may not gain the cheers 

Of the great world ; 
Just do your part each little day, 

Be brave and true ; 
A greater than a soldier's joy 

Will come to you. 

— Alice Jean Cleator. 

THE WISHES. 

DOWN where the corn leaves with graceful ease 
Whispered and swayed in the autumn breeze, 
A youthful band in the gray twilight, 
With faces sober and faces bright, 
Were tossing the shining ears of gold 
Into a wagon brown and old. 

There was Daisy with ruddy hair. 

Shading eyes like violets fair, 
Declaring when older she would be 

As great a lady as Nina Lee ; 

"And I won't live," with frowning face, 

"In such a horrid, tumbly place." 

"I'll be a soldier," said Bert the brave, 
"And go where the magnolias wave ; 

I'll ride the best horse in all the land. 
And be one of the very proudest band. 

If you don't believe me, just v;ait and see; 
Now, Miss Mabel, what will you be?" 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

"O I'll be rich," said Mabel the fair, 
"And Hve in a house Hke that up there," 

And she pointed, with one httle hand, 
Up to a mansion old and grand. 

"I'll dress in satin, blue and white. 
And give a party every night." 

"I'm going to be a sailor bold 
And visit countries strange and old!" 

And Jesse tossed his handsome head, 

And glanced around o'er the sunny mead. 

"I don't care what you may all be. 
But I will plow the deep blue sea!" 

"Will you, my child?" and turning there. 
Standing near was their brother Clare, 

And in his thoughtful dark blue eyes 
Was a look of grieved and sad surprise, 

And laving his hand on Jesse's hair, 

"Have you forgotten your parents' care? 

"Jesse, they've watched o'er you all your years, 
Labored and suffered from ma'ny fears, 

And now will you cause them greater grief? 
You know their stay with us will be brief. 

You can visit the fields in heather drest. 
When those who best love you lie at rest. 

"Daisy and Mabel both, I see. 

Wish to be rich like Nina Lee; 
And I, too, hope that you sometime may, 

But she did not always live in this way. 
Once she was humble and lonely and poor. 

And lived in a little house on the moor. 

"Anguish claimed her again and again, 

But she worked and sung in sunshme and rain, 

Till He who guards the sparrow's fall 
And tenderly watches o'er us all, 

Took Nina from that lonely place 
To a home of luxury, ease and grace. 

"Bertie, you need not go to fight 

Where the foreign suns are shining bright ; 
There are battles as great with sloth to be wrought, 

A.S ever with armor and cannon were fought : 
You can show as much courage in being a man, 

A-s the very bravest soldier can." 



56 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

The crimson clouds paled iii the sky 
And the rising wind went surging by, 

But the lesson learned that summer night 
Will not fade away like the clouds so bright ; 

The intiuence of Clare's brave words will lasc 
After their memory long has passed. 

— Nellie F. Gozvdy. 

OUR FLAG. 

fc^LAG of the fearless-hearted, 

^ Flag of the broken chain, 

Flag in a day-dawn started. 

Never to pale or wane. 
Dearly we prize its colors, 

With the heaven light breaking through, 
The clustered stars and the steadfast bars, 
The red, the white, and the blue. 

Flag of the sturdy fathers, 

Flag of the royal sons. 
Beneath its folds it gathers 

Earth's best and noblest ones. 
Boldly we wave its colors. 

Our veins are thrilled anew 
By the steadfast bars, the clustered stars, 

The red, the white, and the blue. 

— Margaret Sangsfer. 

THE STARS AND STRIPES. 

THAT one isn't as pretty as ours, anyway!" Esther 
cried triumphantly. 

"No, indeed — not half," agreed Leigh. 'Tt's all 
faded out-y!" 

''An' there's free holes into it!" chimed in the Midget. 

Grandpa swung round on his seat and regarded the three 
little girls on the back seat gravely. 

"The most beautiful flag I ever saw had holes in it," he 
said. "It was all 'faded out-y' and soiled and frayed, but 
it was beautiful. We cheered it." 

The older children instinctively understood and sat silent, 
with solemn little faces. 

"Why!" cried' the Midget. "An' holes into it— an' dirty?" 

"Was it after a battle, grandpa?" Leigh asked softly, 
after a few minutes. 

Grandpa's stooped shoulders straightened grandly. Es- 
ther thought how much he looked as if it were Decoration 



/■ 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 57 

Day and he was marching in the procession, with a gold cord 
around his hat. She always liked to see him at the head of 
his company. 

."Yes, it was after a battle — and a victory," grandpa said, 
and how his eyes shone down on the back seat from under 
their shaggy gray brows ! ''We boys were dirty and frayed, 
too, and some of us were full of holes — poor fellows ! But 
we cheered the old flag — how we cheered it!" 

Dick, on the front seat beside grandpa, straightened his 
shoulders, too, and threw up his small brown head. He was 
wishing he could have cheered grandpa's battle-flag with the 
other boys. 

They rode along farther, and there were more flags to 
count and compare with the flag at 'home. Almost all the 
houses had a flag, and some of them a good many. They 
took the breeze bravely and floated and waved as if they 
were proud of themselves. B)^ and by grandpa turned down 
a poorer street, lined with toppling tenement houses. 

"O grandpa, what we going down this street for?" Dick 
cried, in a little disgust. 

"To see the flags," grandpa said, and he pointed to a 
tiny Old Glory that fluttered from a window high above the 
sidewalk. 

And sure enough, the dismal little street was full of little 
Old Glories ! They were very tiny ones indeed, but they all 
had the stars and the stripes in them, and- they seemed to be 
proud of themselves, too. 

"Oh, my, seems as if the world was brim-over full o' 
flags !" sighed Leigh, happily. "There isn't any end to 'em." 

"But there was a beginning," said grandpa quietly,nodding 
over his shoulder. 

"Truly? But of course there was!" Esther exclaimed, 
laughing. 

"My! Was there ever just one flag in the country?" 
Dick cried; "just one, grandpa?" 

"Just one flaar — the very first one of all, Dick. Who can 
guess who drew the design for it?" 

"I guess it was Adam!" Esther said, promptly. 

"And Eve sewed the stripes together," finished Leigh. 

Grandpa laughed heartily. "I guess it was George Wash- 
ington," he said. "He got the lady who made his shirt-ruffles 
to make the first flag of all the flags in this country ; and he 
sat in her little back room and made the plan for it. Thir- 
teen stripes and thirteen stars — ^the first Old Glory. That 
lady made all the flags for the government until she died, 
and then her sister took up the work. Mustn't it have been 
glorious work?" 



58 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

"Oh yes!" murmured Esther, dreamily. "I'd have loved 
to sew that my own self. It would have been glorious to 
prick my fingers making a flag!" 

"How long ago did that woman make the very first one, 
grandpa?" asked Dick, suddenly, his tiny brown freckles 
aglow with interest. 

"Well." grandpa said, "it was in the year 1776, and you 
can reckon for yourselves how long ago that was." 

— Youth's Companion. 

PR.OGR.AMME. 

Recitation by School : 

Lives of great men all remind us 

We can make our lives sublime, 
And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time ; — 

— H. W. Longfellow. 

Recitation: Our Heroes. — Phoebe Gary. (See page 53.) 
Song: Hurrah for the Flag. 

Recitation : Some Tributes to Lincoln, one of the world's 
greatest heroes. ^ 

He sought to make every man better and happier. 

— R. Jcffery. 

His words and his deeds were one. — Henry Fowler. 

He was the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever 
seen. — E. M. Stanton. 

The greatest man of his age. — E. M. Burnside. 
"A laboring man, with horny hands. 
Who swung the axe, who tilled his lands. 

"O honest face, which all men knew! 
O tender heart, known but to few !" 
Story : A Little Hero of Holland. (A Leak in the Dyke.) 

— Phoebe Cary. 
Song : The Meadow Is a Battlefield. — F. D. Sherman. 
Story : Peggy's Garden and What Grew Therei'T. 

— Oelia Thaxter. 
Recitation: Washington's Birthday. — W. C. Bryant. 

Yet has no month a prouder day, 
Not even when the summer broods 

O'er meadows in their fresh array. 
Or autumn tints the glowing woods. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 39 

For this chill season now again 
Brings, in its annual rounds, the morn 

When, greatest of the sons of men, 
Our glorious Washington was born. 

Recitation: A Hero. — Alice Jean Cleator. (See page 54.) 

Song : The Soldier's Song. — Zelter. Or 

*The Drum. — Eugene Field. (By youngest children, 
marching.) 
Recitation: The Wishes. — Nellie F. Gowdy. (See page 

54.) 
Song: *Our Heroes. 

Recitation: Our Flag. — Margaret E. Sangster. (Flag Sa- 
lute — by school.) (See page 56.) 
*PubHshed by Scott, Foresman & Co., Chicago. 

LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY. 

TOO much cannot be done to preserve the memory and 
deepen the moral expression of such a man as Lin- 
coln. — O. B. Frothingham. 

The picture of Lincoln draped with flags should be before 
the children while the preparatory lessons are being given 
and during the Lincoln Day exercises. 

There is no influence so great in the building of character 
as that of a truly noble personage. No characters in Amer- 
ican history ever made such deep and lasting impressions as 
those of Washington and Lincoln, because of the honesty 
and simplicity of their lives in the midst of their greatness. 
They come very near to all children, and each year their birth- 
day should be celebrated, either separately or together. 

Much trash is taught to the primary children for this 
celebration. The only safe rule to follow is this : Never 
teach children anything that is not worthy of remembering 
throughout life. Rather teach them something that is be- 
yond them just now, but which will come to them later in 
all its beauty. 

Many of the beautiful tributes to Lincoln and Washington, 
and also many of their sayings, can be understood by the 
youngest of school children. 

The following are some simple tributes to Lincoln : 

He sought to make every man better and happier. 

— R. Jeffery. 

His deeds and his words were one. — Henry Fowler. 
He became our father, and his tomb is our shrine. 

— Rufus Blanchard. 



60 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

His fame will grow brighter as time passes and his great 
work is better understood. — U. S. Grant. 

There is in the crown of England no diamond whose lustre 
will not pale before the name of Abraham Lincoln. 

— Robert G. Ingersoll. 

Lincoln's deeds will live in the household words of an 
elevated race. — /. C. Bingham. 

He was the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever 
seen. — Edzvard M. Stanton. 

The greatest man of his age. — A. E. Burnside. 

The noted sayings of Lincoln are simplicity itself, and, 
at the same time, each sa3ang possesses so much strength 
that it carries with it a deep impression. 

There are also many simple poems in literature which 
are tributes to Lincoln. A few references are here given. 

Our Good President. — Phoebe Gary. 

Abraham Lincoln. — Alice Gary. • 

The Death of Lincoln. — Bryant. 

The Emancipation Group. — Whittier. 

O Gaptain ! My Gaptain ! — Whitman. 

The Commemoration Ode, Ganto VL — Lowell. 

Services in Memory of Lincoln. — Holmes. 
Other Appropriate Poems : 

Nobility. — Alice Gary. 

Union and Liberty. — Holmes. 

Our Country's Gall. — Bryant. 

Oh, Why Should the Spirit of Mortal Be Proud.— T. Bu- 
chanan Read. (Lincoln's favorite hymn.) 

God Save the Flag. — Holmes. 

On the Death of a Great Man. — Richard Watson Gilder. 
Good Stories and References : 

Lincoln Stories. — J. B. McGlure. (McGlure & Rhodes, 
Chicago.) 

Words of Lincoln. — Osborne Oldroyd. 

Lincoln Memorial Album. — O. H. Oldroyd (Washington, 
D. G.) 

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. ("The high water mark 
of American oratory.") A. Lincoln. — (T. Y. Growell 
& Co., Ne\y York.) 

Eggleston's First Book of American History. — (Amer- 
ican Book Company.) 

Montgomery's Beginner's American History. — (Ginn & 
Company.) 

Abraham Lincoln and the Downfall of American Slavery. 
— N. Brooks. 

Children's Life of Lincoln. — Putnam. 



SPECL4L DATS IN SCHOOL. 61 

Among the Perry Pictures are the following: 
Lincoln. 

His Home, Springfield, 111. 

The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. 
The Emancipation Group — Boston. 
The St. Gaudens Statue. — Lincoln Park, Chicago. 

Topics : 

1. Lincoln's chances for an education. 

2. How Lincoln paid for a damaged book. 

3. His love for children. 

4. Lincoln's kindness to his mother. 

5. How he earned his first dollar. 

6. Splitting one thousand rails for a pair of pants. 

7. How he gained the name of "Honest Abe." 

8. His kindness to his step-mother. 

9. Buying his step-mother a farm. 

10. How he wrote the story of his life. 

11. His experiences in politics. 

12. His services in the Black Hawk War. 

13. Lincoln and "Tad." 

14. His great courage. 

15. His humor. 

(See "Lincoln Stories," or "Words of Lincoln.") 

NO BILITY. 

np RUE worth is in being, not seeming, — 
* In doing each day that goes by 

Some little good — not in the dreaming 
Of great things to do by and by. 
For whatever men say in blindness, 
And spite of the fancies of youth, 
There's nothing so kingly as kindness. 
And nothing so royal as truth. 

We get back our mete as we measure — 

We cannot do wrong and feel right, 
Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure. 

For justice avenges each slight 
The air for the wing of the sparrow. 

The bush for the robin and wren, 
But alway the path that is narrow 

And straight for the children of men. 

'Tis not in the pages of story 
The heart of its ills to beguile, 

Though he who makes courtship to glory 
Gives all that he hath for her smile. 



62 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

For when from her heights he has won her, 

Alas ! it is only to prove 
That nothing's so sacred as honor, 

And nothing so loyal as love. 

We cannot make bargains for blisses, 

Nor catch them like fishes in nets ; 
And sometimes the thing our life misses. 

Helps more than the thing which it gets. 
For good lieth not in pursuing, 

Nor gaining of great nor of small, 
But just in the doing, and doing 

As we would be done by, is all. 

Through envy, through malice, through hating, 

Against the world early and late, 
No jot of our courage abating — 

Our part is to work and to wait. 
And slight is the sting of his trouble 

Whose winnings are less than his worth ; 
For he who is honest is noble, 

Whatever his fortunes or birth. 

— Alice Cary. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

OUR. GOOD PRESIDENT. 

OUR sun hath gone down at the noonday, 
The heaVens are black ; 
And over the morning, the shadows 
Of night-time are back. 

Stop the proud, boasting mouth of the cannon; 

Hush the mirth of the shout ; — 
God is God! and the ways of Jehovah 

Are past finding out. 

Lo ! the beautiful feet on the mountains. 

That yesterday stood, 
The white feet that came with glad tidings 

Are dabbled in blood. 

The Nation that firmly was settling 

The crown on her head, 
Sits like Rizpah, in sackcloth and ashes. 

And watches her dead. 

Who Is dead? who, unmoved by our wailing, 

Is lying so low? 
O my Land, stricken dumb in your anguish. 

Do you feel, do you know, 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 63 

That the hand which reached out of the darkness 

Hath taken the whole; 
Yea, the arm and ihe head of the people, — 

The heart and flie soul? 

And that heart, o'er whose dread awful silence 

A nation has wept, 
Was the truest, the gentlest, and sweetest, 

A man ever kept. 

Why, he heard from the dungeons, the rice-fields, 

The dark holds of ships, 
Every faint, feeble cry which oppression 

Smothered down on men's lips. 

In her furnace, the centuries had welded 

Their fetter and chain ; 
And like withes, in the hands of his purpose, 

He snapped them in twain. 

Who can be what he was to the people, — 

What he was to the state? 
Shall the ages bring to us another 

As good and as great? 

Our hearts with their anguish are broken, 

Our wet eyes are dim ; 
For us is the loss and the sorrow. 

The triumph for him ! 

For, ere this, face to face with his Father 

Our martyr hath stood ; 
Giving into his hand a white record. 
With its great seal of blood ! 

— PJioebe Gary. 
By permission of Houghton, MifBin & Co. 

LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG SPEECH. 

E^^'OURSCORE and seven years ago our fathers brought 
^ forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in 
liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men 
are created equal. We are engaged in a great civil war, test- 
ing whether that nation — or any other nation so conceived and 
dedicated — can long endure. 

We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We are 
met to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place 
of those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do 
this. 



64 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL. 

But, in a large sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot con • 
secrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, liv ■ 
ing and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far 
above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, 
nor long remember, what we say here ; but it can never for- 
get what they did here. 

It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the 
unfinished work which they have thus far so nobly carried 
on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task 
remaining before us ; that from these honored dead we take 
increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave 
the last full measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve 
that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that this nation 
shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom ; and that 
government of the people, by the people and for the people, 
shall not perish from the earth. 

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! 

O Captain ! my Captain ! our fearful trip is won, 
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we 
sought is won. 
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, 
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring ;' 
But O heart ! heart ! heart ! 

O the bleeding drops of red. 
Where on the deck my Captain lies. 

Fallen cold and dead. — Walt Whitman. 

(From Lincoln Collection. By permission.) 
O Captain ! my Captain ! rise up and hear the bells ; 
Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills. 
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths, for you the shores 

a crowding, 
For you they call the swaying mass, their eager faces turning ; 
Here, Captain! dear father ! 

This arm beneath your head ! 
It is some dream that on the deck 
You've fallen cold and dead. 
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, 
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will. 
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and 

done, 
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; 
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells ! 

But I with mournful tread, 
Walk the deck my Captain lies. 
Fallen cold and dead. 

— Walt Whitman. (From Lincoln Collection.) 
By permission. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 65 

PROGRAMME. 

Song: Guard the Flag. — Holmes. 
ToTic : Early Life of Lincoln. 

(a) Birth. 

(b) Homes. 

(c) Education. 
Quotations : 

Born in the humble walks of life, and unaided by education 
or by fortune, Abraham Lincoln, by his own endeavor 
and native resources, attained to the highest honors 
of the republic. — David Davis. 

The typical American, pure and simple. — Asa Gra.y. 
By patient culture, step by step he rose 
From rude cabin of the humblest poor ; 
. Wrestling from year to year with life's stern foes. 
Till victory opened wide her crystal door. 

— John Westall. 
Proverbs : 

A good cause makes a stout heart and a strong arm. 

God helps him who helps himself. 

Men of few words are the best men. 

Industry is fortune's right hand. 

He that is master of himself will soon be master of others. 

United we stand, divided we fall. 

Actions speak louder than words. 

A tree is known by its fruits. 

Honesty is the best policy. 

Where there's a will there's a way. 
Topic: His Manhood. 

(a) Honesty. 

(b) Cheerfulness. 

(c) Courage. 

Recitation: Nobility. — Alice Gary. (See page 6i.) 
Topic : Lincoln in the Black Hawk War. 
Recitation : Our Country's Call. — Bryant. 
Song : Freedom, Our Queen. — Holmes. 
Topic : Lincoln, Our President. 

Recitation : Oh, Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud? 
— T. Buchanan Read. 

Famous Sayings of Lincoln : 

"I am nothing, but the truth is everything." 
"All I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. 
I remember her prayers, and they have always followed 
me. They have clung to me all my life." 



ee SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

"Those who deny - freedom to others, deserve it not for 

themselves." 
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that 
faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty, as we 
understand it." 
"Let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without 

fear, and with manly hearts." 
*'Stand fast to the Union and the old flag." 
"A government of the people, by the people and for the 

people, shall not perish from the earth." 
^'Let us at all times remember that all American citizens 
are brothers of a common country, and should dwell 
together in bonds of fraternal feeling." 
"My early history is perfectly characterized by a single line 
of Gray's Elegy: 'The short and simple annals of 
the poor.' " 
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, 
let us strive to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the 
nation's wounds , to care for him who shall have borne 
the battle, and for his widow and orphans ; to do all 
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace 
among ourselves, and with all nations." 
Reading: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. (See page 63.) 
Recitation : Our Good President. — Phoebe Gary. 
Topic: The Death of Lincoln. 
Recitation: O Captain! My Captain! — Whitman. (See 

page 76.) 
Quotations : Tributes to Lincoln. 

A power was his beyond the touch of art 

Or armed strength, — a pure and mighty heart. 

— Richard Watson Gilder. 

He stood an heroic figure 

In the midst of an heroic epoch. 

^Emerson. 

He has no parallel since Washington, and while our 
republic endures, he will live with him in the grateful 
hearts of his grateful countrymen. — Schuyler Colfax. 

He united in his nature the rugged endurance of the oak, 
with the yielding humility of the willow. 

— C. F. Burdick. 

America has never had a President who found such words 
in the depth of his heart. — Carl Schurz. 

God-given, and God-led and sustained we must ever be- 
lieve him. — Wendell Phillips. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 67 

Pure in life and motive, inflexible in his purpose to do 
right as he understood it. — John B. Gough. 

Lincoln was the purest, the most generous, the most 
magnanimous of men. He will hold a place in the 
world's history loftier than that of any king or con- 
queror. It is no wonder that the parliaments of Eur- 
ope, that the people throughout the civilized world, 
should everywhere speak of him with reverence ; for 
his work was one of the greatest labors a human intel- 
lect ever sustained. — John Sherman. 

No hand was ever stretched toward liberty that was not 
grasped and championed and saved by Abraham Lincoln. 

— F. W. Gunsaulus. 

His constant touch and sympathy with the people inspired 
the confidence which enabled him to command and 
wield all the forces of the republic. 

— Chauncey M. Depew. 

He offered no shining qualities at the first encounter ; he 
did not offend by superiority ; he had a face and manner 
that disarmed suspicion, which inspired confidence, 
which confirmed good-will. — Emerson. 

Our hearts lie buried in the dust, 

With him so true and tender, 
The patriot's stay, the people's trust, 

The shield of the offender : 
JYet every murmuring voice is still, 
As, bowing to thy sovereign will. 

Our best loved we surrender. — Holmes. 

Hold warriors, counselors, kings ! 
All give place 
To this dear benefactor of the race. 

— Richard Henry Stoddard. 

Our children shall behold his fame, 

The kindly-earnest, brave, foreseeing man. 

Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame, 
New birth of our new soil, the first American. 

— Lowell. 

His character and service to this country will stand as a 
monument long after the granite monuments erected 
to his memory have crumbled in the dust. 

— Thomas A. Edison. 

His was the tireless strength of native truth. 
The might of rugged, untaught earnestness. 



68 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Deep-freezing poverty made brave his youth, 
And toned, his manhood with its winter stress. 

— Maurice Thompson. 

(See others given at the beginning of this chapter. ) 
Topic: Famous Statues of Lincoln. 

(a) Washmgton. 

(b) Chicago. 

(c) Boston. 

Recitation : The Emancipation Group. — Whittier. 

Song: Battle Hymn of the Republic. — Julia Ward Howe. 

WASHINGTON'S BIR.THDAY. 

MARBLE columns may moulder in the dust, and time 
erase all impress from the crumbling stone, but his 
fame arose with American liberty, and with American liberty 
alone can perish. —Daniel Webster. 

The schoolroom should be well decorated with flags 
and bunting, and the portrait of Washington should occupy 
a conspicuous place while his Hfe is being studied, and his 
glorious deeds celebrated. 

Among the Perry Pictures are the following, which will 
be found very pleasing and impressive : 

The Washington Elm. 

Washington Crossing the Delaware. (Lentze.) 

Washington at Trenton. (Taed.) 

Washington and Lafayette at Mt. Vernon. (Rossiter.) 

The Washington Monument. 

Washington. 

Martha Washington. 

Mt. Vernon. 

Among the many useful helps in the study of Washington, 
the following are suggested : 

Life of Washington, or ' 

Washington and his Country. — Washington Irving. 

Life of Washington. — Scudder. 

Life of Washington. — Hale. 

The Virginians. — Thackeray. 

The Character of Washington. — Jefferson. 

Apostrophe to Washington. — Webster. 

The Birthday of Washington. — Chcate. 

Maxims of Washington. — Scudder. 

Washington's Farewell Address. 

Rules of Conduct. — Washington. 

Patriotism. — (American Book Company.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 69 

First Book of American History. — Eggleston. (American 
Book Company.) 

Story of the Thirteen Colonies. — Guerber. (American 

Book Company.) 

Story of Our RepubHc, — Guerber. (American Book Com- 
pany. ) 

Beginners' American History. — Montgomery. (Ginn & 
Compan5^) 

Early Sketches of George Washington. — Baker. 

Great George Washington. — "Story Hour." 

Little George Washington. — "Story Hour." 

Poems : 

From Ode to Napoleon. — Lord Byron. 

Ode for Washington's Birthday. — Holmes. 

Under the Old Elm,, Canto VHL— Lowell. 

Ode to Washington. — Whittier. 

The Twenty-second of February. — Bryant. 

Washington. — Margaret Sangster. 

Crown Our Washington. — Butterworth. 

The Birthday of Washington Ever Honored. — George 

Howl and. 
A True Soldier. — Alice Jean Cleator. 
A Hero. — Alice Jean Cleator. 
Our Defenders. — Thomas B. Reed. 
The Bell of Mt. Vernon.— Butterworth. 
The American Flag. — Joseph Rodman Drake. 

Songs : 

Freedom, Our Queen. — Holmes. 

America. — Smith. 

Guard the Flag. — George M. Vickers. 

There are Many Flags. — M. H. Howliston. 

Mt. Vernon Bells. — "Golden Robin." 

Columbia. 

New Hail Columbia. — G. W. Chadwick. ("Tabasco 

March.") 
The Star Spangled Banner. — Francis Scott Key. 
Flag Song. — Eleanor Smith. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S DISAPPOINTMENT. 

WHEN George Washington was about eighteen, his 
half brother Lawrence secured for him from Ad- 
miral Vernon, a midshipman's warrant to serve 
on the beautiful English frigate Bellna. 

George was delighted at the prospects of a naval career, 
and when his' uniform was forwarded to him he put it on with 



70 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

an elation he had never known before. It did not occur to him 
that his widowed mother would positively object to his going 
to sea. So he announced to her as soon as he arrived at Ferry- 
Farm, the home of Madam Washington, "I have a warrant 
from Admiral Vernon to serve on the Bellna, and my brother 
Lawrence has been kind enough to forward my uniform from 
Alexandria." 

To his surprise his mother answered : "Your brother 
doubtless thought he was kind, but I never gave my consent, 
— and I shall never give it." 

"I am sorry to hear you say that, dear mother, for as much 
as I love you yet I cannot let you choose my course in life." 

The mother and son looked at each other, both pale and de- 
termined. 

The mother in a low voice asked, "Do you intend to dis- 
obey me, my son?" 

"Do not force me to do it, dear mother. My honor is en- 
gaged to Admiral Vernon and my brother. I cannot obey 3^ou 
in this matter." 

"You do refuse then, my son?" 

"Mother, I must." 

"My son, my best beloved child," she cried, tears streaming 
down her face, "Do not break my heart by leaving me for the 
perils of the sea. I implore you to change your purpose." 

George stood motionless. 

His mother sobbed, "I would go on my knees, if that would 
move you." 

There was a short pause — then trembling with emotion 
George spoke : "M'other, I will give up my commission." 

"God will reward you my son for yielding to your mother." 

The glorious career of Washington all turned upon this de- 
cision. If he had entered the navy, he would not have been in 
Gen. Braddock's campaign, where his wisdom and bravery won 
for him the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial 
Army. 

George Washington, in changing his plans, and submitting 
to a great disappointment in deference to his mother's love, 
showed greatness of mind. 

Those who are stubborn and boast that they never change 
their views or plans on account of the desires of others are usu- 
ally narrow, selfish natures that never reach the greatness, 
which is only another name for achieving good for fellow 
men. — Ellery A. Greene. 



w 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 71 

THE AMER^ICAN FLAG, 

(First stanza.) 

HEN Freedom from her mountain height, 

Unfurled her standard to the air, 
She tore the azure robe oi night, 

And set the stars of glory there. 
She mingled with its glorious dyes 

The milky baldric of the skies, 
x\nd striped its pure, celestial white, 

With streakings of the morning light, 
Then, from his mansion in the sun 

She called her eagle-bearer" down, 
And gave into his mighty hand 

The symbol of her chosen land ! 

— Joseph Rodman Drake. 

THE STAR IN THE WEST. 

^HERE'S a star in the West, that shall never go down. 

Till the records of valor decay; 
We must worship its light, though it is not our own. 

For liberty burst in its ray. 
Shall the name of a Washington ever be heard 

By a freeman, and thrill not his breast? 
Is there one out of bondage, that hails not the word 

As the Bethlehem star of the West? 

"War, war to the knife ! be enthralled or ye die," 

Was the echo that woke in his land ; 
But it was not his voice that promoted the cry. 

Nor his madness that kindled the brand. 
He raised not his arm, he defied not his foes. 

While a leaf of the olive remained ; 
Till goaded with insult, his spirit arose 

Like a long-baited lion unchained. 

He struck with firm courage the blow of the brave, 

But sighed o'er the carnage that spread ; 
He indignantly trampled the yoke of the slave, 

But wept for the thousands that bled. 
Though he threw back the fetters, and headed the strife. 

Till man's charter was fairly restored ; 
Yet he prayed for the moment when freedom and life 

Would no longer be pressed by the sword. 
Oh ! his laurels were pure, and his patriot-name 

In the page of the future shall dwell, 



72 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And be seen in all annals, the foremost in fame, 

By the side of a hofer and tell. 
Revile not my song, for the wise and the good 

Among Britons have nobly confessed, 
That his was the glory, and ours was the blood 

Of the deeply-stained field of the West. 

— Eliza Cook. (English poet.) 

CR.OWN OUR WASHINGTON. 

/k RISE! 'tis the day of our Washington's glory, 
^ ^ The garlands uplift for our liberties won. 
Oh sing in your gladness his echoing story. 
Whose sword swept for freedom the fields of the sun! 
Not with gold, nor with gems, 
But with evergreens vernal, 
And the banners of stars that the continent span 
Crown, crown we the chief of the heroes eternal, 
Who lifted his sword for the birthright of man ! 

He gave us a nation to make it immortal : 

He laid down for freedom the sword that he drew. 
And his faith leads us on through the uplifting portal. 
Of the glories of peace and our destinies new. 
Not with gold, nor with gems. 
But with evergreens vernal, 
And the flags that the nations of liberty span. 
Crown, crown him the chief of the heroes eternal, 
Who laid down his sword for the birthright of man ! 

Lead, Face of the Future, serene in thy beauty, 

Till o'er the dead heroes the peace star shall gleam. 
Till Right shall be Might in the counsels of duty. 
And the service of man be life's glory supreme. 
Not with gold, nor with gems. 
But with evergreens vernal. 
And the flags that the nations' in brotherhood span. 
Crown, crown we the chief of the heroes eternal. 
Whose honor was gained by his service to man ! 

O Spirit of Liberty, sweet are thy numbers ! 

The winds to thy banners their tribute shall bring. 
While rolls the Potomac where Washington slumbers, 
• And his natal day comes with the angels of spring. 
We follow thy counsels, 
O hero eternal ! 
To highest achievement the school leads the van, 
And, crowning thy brow with the evergreens vernal. 
We pledge thee our all to the service of man ! 

— Hesekiah Butterworth. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 73 

PR.OGR.AMME. 

PR.IMAR.Y GRADES. 

Song : America. 

Flag Salute. — Balch. (See page ) 

Song : Some Flags are Red, or White or Green. — Eleanor 
Smith, or 

There Are Many Flags. — Howliston. 
Recitation: Our Colors. (By three children and school} 

"Red, from the leaves of the Autumn woods 
On our frost-kissed northern hills ; — 
Red, to show that patriot blood 
Is beating now in a hurrying flood 
In the hearts of American men. 

"White, from the fields of stainless drift 
On our wide, white western plains ; 
White, to show that, as pure as snow, 
We beheve that the Christ light yet shall glow 
In the souls of American men. 

"Blue, from the arch of the winter sky 
O'er our fatherland outspread ; 
Blue, to show that, wide as heaven, 
Shall justice to all mankind be given, 
At the hands of American men. 

(School.) 
"Red, white and blue, and the light of the stars, 
Through our holy colors shine ; 
Love, truth and" justice, virtues three, 
That shall bloom in the land of liberty, 
In the homes of American men." 

Story :' Little George Washington. 

The apple. School life. 

The hatchet. The colt. 

Playing soldier. Love for his mother. 

Regitatign : A True Soldier. — AHce Jean Cleator. 
Though we may never be soldiers 

On the battlefield, 
Though we may not carry banners, 

Bayonets or shields ; 
Each may be as true and valiant. 

Till life's v.'ork is done ; 



74 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL. 

Each may be as brave a soldier 
As George Washington, 

There are mighty hosts of evil, 

Armies great and strong; 
Each can be a little soldier, 

Fighting all ,day long. 
Let us ever fight them bravely, 

Let us valiant be ; 
Fight the host oi falsehood, envy, 

Pride and cruelty. 

Oh, how valiant are the soldiers 

Who to battle go; 
Yet more brave are those who struggle 

With an unseen foe. 
When the battles all are ended. 

And the victory's won. 
Each will be as true a soldier 

As George Washington. 

Story : Great George Washington. 

As a soldier. 

As our President. 

Recitation : The Bells of Mt. Vernon. — Butterworth. 

Song: Guard the Flag. — George M. Vickers. 

Maxims of George Washington : 

Obey and honor your father and mother. 

Speak not evil , of the absent; it is unjust. 

Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful 
to keep your promise. 

Say not anything that will hurt another, either in fun or 
earnest. 

When another person speaks, listen yourself, and do not 
try to disturb others. 

Let your recreations be manly, not sinful. 
It is better to be alone than in bad company. 
Do not speak when others are speaking. 

Recitation : The Birthday of Washington Ever Honored. 
— Rowland. 

Simple Tributes to Washington: 

Song : Columbia, or 

Washington, Our Washington. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 75 

PR.OGR.AMME. 

INTER^MEDIATE GRADES. 

Song : Freedom, Our Queen. — Holmes. 
Recitation : Ode for Washington's Birthday. — Holmes. 
(First stanza.) 

- Welcome to the day returning, 

Dearer still as ages flow, 
While the touch of Faith is burning, 

Long as Freedom's altars glow ! 
See the hero whom it gave us 

Slumbering on a mother's breast; 
For the arm he stretched to save us, 

Be its morn forever blest! 

Topic: Boyhood of Washington. 

(a) Birthplace. 

(b) Education. 

(c) Anecdotes of early life. 
Topic : Youth of Washington. 

(a) Wish to be a sailor. 

(b) Love for his mother. 

(c) As a surveyor. 

(d) As a messenger to the French. 

(e) As Braddock's aid-de-camp. 

Words of Washington : 

To persevere in one's duty, and to be silent, is the best an- 
swer to calumny. 

Peace with all the world is my sincere wish. 

Whatever service I have rendered to my country, in its 
general approbation I have received my reward. 

The value of liberty is enhanced by the difficulties of at- 
tainment, and the worth of character is appreciated by 
the trials of adversity. 

I require no guards except those of the people. 

Without virtue, and without integrity, the finest talents 
and the most brilliant accomplishments can never gain 
the respect and conciliate the esteem of the truly valu- 
able part of mankind. 

Let us have a government by which our lives, liberties, and 
properties will be secured. 
Topic : Washington in the Revolution, 
(a) At Valley Forge. 



76 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

(b) Friendship of Washington and Lafayette. 

(c) Crossing the Delaware. 

(d) Yorktown. 

Recitation : Crown Our Washington. — Butterworth. (See 

page 87). 
Topic: Washington, Our President. 
Reading: Washington's Farewell Address. 
Tributes to Washington : 

America has furnished to the world the character of 
Washington ; if American institutions had done nothing 
else, that alone, would have entitled it to the respect of 
all mankind. — Webster. 

Washington is the mightiest name on earth, — long since 
mightiest in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in 
moral reformation. * * * 'Pq add brightness 
to the sun or glory to the name of Washington, are 
alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe 
pronounce the name, and in its naked, deathless splen- 
dor, leave it shining on. — Lincoln. 

The purest figure in history. — Gladstone. 

Eternity alone can reveal to the human race its debt ot 
gratitude to the peerless and immortal name of Wash- 
ington. — Garfield. 

Never did I behold so superb a man. — Lafayette. 

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his 
countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and 
endearing scenes of private life. 

— Richard Henry Lee. 

Topic : The Home Life of Washington. 
Song: Mt. Vernon Bells. 

Tributes from the Poets : 

Where may the wearied eye repose 
When gazing on the great. 
Where neither guilty glory glows, 
Nor despicable state! 
Yes, one, — the first, the last, the best. 
The Cincinnatus of the West, 
Whom envy dared not hate, — 
Bequeathed the name of Washington, 
To make men blush there w?s but one! 

— Byron. (From "Ode to Napoleon.") 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 77 

Virginia gave us this imperial man 

Cast in the massive mould 
Of those high-statured ages 'old 

Which into grander forms our mortal metal ran, 
—Lowell. (From "Under the Old Elm.") 

Thus 'mid the wrecks of thrones shall live 
Unmarred, undimmed, our hero's fame, 
And year succeeding year shall give 
Increase of honors to his name. 
— Bryant. From ("The Twenty-second of Feb- 
ruary.") 

Topic: Famous Statues and Memorials to Washington. 
The Washington Monument. 

Build it to the skies ; you cannot outreach the loftiness of 
his principles ! Found it upon the massive and eternal 
rock ; you cannot make it more enduring than his fame ! 
Construct it of the peerless Parian marble ; you cannot 
make it more pure than his life ! 

— Robert C. Win thro p. 

Song : America, or 
Columbia, or 
The Star Spangled Banner. 

There is a wide field for selection in making a programme 
for Washington's birthday. Some other good topics are : 
Comparison of Washington and Lincoln. 
The influence of Washington's life on the lives of men 

who lived afterward. 
The history of the flag of our country. 

The Washington and Lincoln Day programmes may be 
combined and but one day celebrated for both. 

It is not necessary to have a programme. The wise teach- 
er may make quite as deep an impression without one, by 
readings, pictures and decorations. 

WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN. 

i% COMBINED programme for Washington's and Lin- 
^^ coin's Birthdays may be used with the less mature 
classes, or when time does not permit giving two 
afternoons. 

The portraits of these two heroes may be hung before the 
children, each picture being draped with the nation's colors, 
and a large flag draped between them. Children may wear 
or carry small flags. 



7S SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

PROGRAMME. 

PART I. 
Song : America. 

Flag Salute. — Balch. 

Recitation : The Twenty-second of February. 
Pale is the February sky, 

And brief the mid-day's sunny hours; 
The wind-swept forest seems to sigh 

For the sweet time of leaves and flowers. 

Yet has no month a prouder day, 
Not even when the summer broods. 

O'er meadows in their fresh array. 
Or autumn tints the glowing woods. 

For this chill season now again 
Brings, in its annual round, the morn 

When, greatest of the sons of men, 
Our glorious Washington was born. 

Thus, 'mid the wreck of thrones, shall live 

Unmarred, undimmed our hero's fame. 
And years succeeding years shall give 
Increase of honors to his name. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 
By permission of D. Appleton & Co. 

Story: Young George Washington. 

(a) The apple. 

(b) The hatchet. 

(c) The colt. 

(d) Playing soldier. 

(e) School life. 

(f) His wish to be a sailor. (See Story, page 69.) 
Recitation: A hero.— Alice Jean Cleator. (See page 54.) 
Story: Great George Washington. 

(a) As a soldier. 

(b) As our president. 

Recitation: The Bells of Mount Vernon.— Butterworth. 
Song: There are Many Flags. 
Story: How Our Flag Was Made. (See page 56.) 
Recitation : Our Colors. 

Red ! 'tis the hue of battle, 
The pledge of victory ; 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL, 79 

In sunset light, in northern night, 

It flashes brave and free. 
''Then paint with red thy banner," 

Quoth Freedom to the Land, 

''And when thy sons go forth to war, 

This sign be in their hand!" 

White! 'tis the sign of purity, 

Of everlasting truth ; 
The snowy robe of childhood, 

The stainless mail of youth. 
Then paint with white thy banner, 

And pure as northern snow 
May these thy stately children 

In truth and honor go. 

Blue! 'tis the tint of heaven, 

The morning's gold-shot arch, 
The burning deeps of noontide, 

The stars' unending march. 
Then paint with blue thy banner. 

And bid thy children raise 
At daybreak, noon and eventide 

Their hymn of love and praise. 

Valor and truth and righteousness, 

In threefold strength to-day 
Raise high the flag triumphant, 

The banner glad and gay. 
"And keep thou well thy colors," 

Quoth Freedom to the Land, 
"And 'gainst a world of evil 

Thy sons and thou shall stand." 
— Laura E. Richards. (From "Youth's Companion.") 

Recitation : The Birthday of Washington Ever Honored. 

— Rowland. 
Tributes to Washington. 

Song : Columbia 
or 
Washington, Our Washington. 

PART II. 
Recitations : 

God give us men. A time like this demands 

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands : 

Men whom the lust of office does not kill , 
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy ; 
Men who possess opinions and a will ; 



80 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Men who have honor — men who will not He ; 

Men who can stand before a demagogue 
And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking, 

Tall men sun-crowned, who live above the fog 
In public duty, and in private thinking, 

— J. G. Holland. 

Topic : Washington, Lincoln's Hero. 

(a) The few books that Lincoln was able to read. 

(b) How and where he read them. 

(c) Weems' Life of Washington and the effect on 

the boy. 

(d) His tribute to Washington. (See page y6.) 

Recitation : Nobility. — Alice Cary. 
Or 
Press On. — Park Benjamin. 

Song: *Come, Boys of Noble Spirit, Come! — A. J. Foxwell. 
(American Book Company.) 

Topic : Lincoln's Manhood. 

(a) The rail splitter. 

(b) The postmaster and storekeeper. 

(c) The politician. . . 

Song : Guard the Flag. 

Famous Sayings of Lincoln . 

Recitation : Our Good President. — Phoebe Gary. 

Tributes to Lincoln . 

Recitation : Abraham Lincoln. — Alice Cary. 

Song: Heroes. — Frank L. Bristow. (Marching song- for 

eight boys.) (The John Church Publishing Co.) 
Recitation: Heroes. (By the school.) 

Mother Earth! Are thy heroes dead? 

Do they thrill the soul of the world no more? 
Are the gleam.ing snows and the poppies red 

All that is left of the brave of yore? 
Are there none to fight as Theseus fought, 

Far in the young world's misty dawn ? 
Or teach as the gray haired Nestor taught? 
Mother Earth! Are thy heroes gone? 

Gone? In a nobler form they rise; 

Dead? We may clasp their hands in ours, 
And catch the light of their glorious eyes. 

And wreathe their brows with immortal flowers. 

*American Book Company. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL SI 

Whenever a noble deed is done 
There are the souls of our heroes stirred ; 

Whenever a field for truth is won, 
There are our heroes' voices heard. 

Their armor rings on a fairer field 

Than Greek or Trojan ever trod; 
For Freedom's sword is the blade they wield, 

And the light above them the smile of God! 

So in his isle of calm delight, 

Jason may dream the hours away, 
But the heroes live, and the skies are bright, 

And the world is a braver world to-day. 

— Edna Dean Proctor. 

Cheiftain, farewell ! The nation crowns thee. Mothers 
shall teach thy name to their lisping children. The youth 
of our land shall emulate thy virtues. Statesmen shall study 
thy record, and learn lessons of wisdom. Mute though thy 
lips be, yet they still speak. Hushed is thy voice, but its ech- 
oes of liberty are ringing through the world, and the sons 
of bondage listen with joy. 

— Matthew Simpson. 



v< POETS' DAY ^ 



PR.IMAR.Y GRADES. 

The Caky Sisters, Celia Thaxter, Eugene Field. 

IT is the purpose of this Poets' Day Programme to 
gather together the poems and stories with which 
the children are famih'ar in order to deepen the 
impressions made, and to more closely associate the poems 
with the home life of the poets. 

Let the children reproduce the life of each in a simple and 
child-like manner, dwelling only on the incidents which are 
of interest to them. Recall all of the poems from each author 
that they have memorized during their study, and re-read the 
others. 

Have pictures which will help strengthen the impressions. 
Flowers and birds may brighten the room. A bouquet of 
pink carnations will serve to remind the children that Eu- 
gene Field loved them the best of all the flowers : and pretty 
sea shells upon the table will bring the childhood home of 
Celia Thaxter before them. 

Reference Books : 

Life of Alice and Phoebe Gary. — Mary Clemmer Ames. 
(Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) 

Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary. (Houghton, Mifflin 
& Co.) 

In Lullaby Land. — Eugene Field. (Chas. Scribner's 
Sons.) 

Love Songs of Childhood. — Eugene Field. (Chas. Scrib- 
ner's Sons.) 

With Trumpet and Drum. — Eugene Field. (Chas Scrib- 
ner's Sons.) 

The Eugene Field Book. — Eugene Field. (Chas. 
Scribner's Sons.) 

A Little Book of Profitable Tales. — Eugene Field. 
(Chas. Scribner's Sons.) 

Poems and Stories for Children. — Celia Thaxter. 
(Houghton Mifflin & Co.) 

Authors' Portraits and Homes. — The Perry Pictures. 
(Maiden, Mass.) 

Talks about Authors. — Ella Reeve Ware. (A. Flana- 
gan.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL, 83 

Songs : 

'• Father and Mother. 

*'lhe Hayloft. — Robert Louis Stevenson. 

'*The Tiptoe Song. — Mrs. Ormiston Chant. 

*Song of the Waves. — Carl Reinecke. 
**The Drum. — Eugene Field. 
**x\ Summer Lullaby. — W. W. Gilchrist. 
=-*Wind Song. — Eleanor Smith. 
**The Angels are Singing. — Carl Reinecke. 

HENRY WADSWOR.TH LONGFELLOW. 

Feb. 27, 1807— March 24. 1882. 

MANY years ago in a city by the seashore, there was 
born a little boy who was to become a great poet. 
His name was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

When he was a boy he loved the birds, the flowers, the 
trees, the brooks and the sea, and he wished to see every one 
happy. 

All day long his mind and heart were full of good and 
beautiful thoughts, so when he grew older he had only to put 
these thoughts into poetry, that other people might know 
them too. 

All his life this poet loved children very dearly. He used 
to take his afternoon walk just in time to meet the "children 
coming home from school." They often met at a blacksmith 
shop to watch the smith at his work. 

Longfellow taught the children to respect all honest toil. 
Once he wrote a poem about this blacksmith and his honest 
life. The poem is called "The Village Blacksmith." 

Mr. Longfellow had five children of his own who loved 
him very much. Their play room was just over his study. 
During the daytime they did not disturb him in his work ; but 
at the hour : 

"Between the dark and the daylight. 
When the night is beginning to lower," 

when they knew he could no longer see to write, they 
would run down stairs and into his study and have a merry 
romp with him. He loved to have them come, and this time 
of day he called the "Children's Hour." 
(See Longfellow. — Poets' Birthdays.) 

^Published by American Book Co. 
**Published by Scott, Foresman & Co. 



84 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

ALICE AND PHOEBE CARY. 

April 26, 1820— Feb. 12, 1871. 
Sept. 4, 1824— July 31, 1871. 

A GREAT many years ago, in a low brown house near 
Mt Pleasant, Ohio, not far from Cincinnati, two 
little girls were born. These two little girls were 
Alice and Phoebe Gary, whose poems we have learned to 
love so well. 

. Alice, who was four years the older, was a girl of very 
strong character and a leader "among her associates ; Phoebe 
was of a more gentle and clinging disposition, and she depend- 
ed much on her sister. The two girls could never bear to be 
separated long at a time, and all their lives they lived happilv 
together. Even death could not long separate them, Phoebe 
living but four months after the death of Alice, which oc- 
curred in 1871. 

Though the home in which they spent their childhood was 
""'low and little and black and old," as Alice tells us, it was 
nevertheless a very dear one to them, for Phoebe has im- 
mortalized it by her vivid pictures in "Our Homestead," and 
Alice has shown us her love for it in "Pictures of Memory" 
and "The Little Brown House on the Hill," in which she 
says, — 

O Memory, be sweet to me — 

Take, take all else at will, 
So thou but leave me safe and sound, 
Without a token my heart to wound, 
The little house on the hill! 
Of their mother they have said some beautiful and tender 
things, and we must believe her, indeed, a very sweet and 
lovable v/oman, as Alice calls her, 

A lady the loveliest the sun ever shone upon, 
and Phoebe says, . 

My mother's voice was always kind. 
And her smile was always sweet. 
While the mother lived, the girls seem to have had no de- 
sire to kave the home ; but when Alice was fifteen years of 
age the mother died, and then, as so often hapoens, all was 
changed. It was not the same home any longer. The girls, who 
were very fond of reading and study, now had little time 
or opportunity for either ; but by good management they 
succeeded in doing som.e studying often late at night and by 
the light of a rag dipped in lard. They also wrote many of 
their beautiful poems at this time. After they had earned a 
little m.oney from the sale of their poems, they left the dear 
old home and went to seek their fortunes in the great city 
of New York. They hired two sm.all rooms and went earnest- 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 85 

ly to work. They were so successful in their hterary efiforts, 
and they made so many friends that they were soon able to 
buy a cozy little home, where they lived happily all the rest 
of their lives. But they never forgot the old home in Ohio, 
"Clovernook/" Alice sometimes called it, and each year they 
visited their father, often bringing him back with them to their 
happy little home in New York. 

All over the world to-day, Alice and Phoebe Gary are 
known and loved through their sweet and simple poems, 
which reveal to us their noble lives. 

Among their dearest friends was John Greenleaf Whittier, 
who called them "two song birds," in his poem "The Singer," 
written after a visit from them. Of Alice he says. 

Her speech dropped prairie flowers ; the gold 

Of harvest wheat about her rolled, 
and also. 

She v\^ent with morning from my door, 

But left m.e richer than before ; 

Thenceforth I knew her voice of cheer. 

The welcome of her partial ear. 

Years passed : through all the land her name 

A pleasant household word became : 

All felt behind the singer stood 

A sweet and gracious womanhood. 

Her life was earnest work, not play ; 

Her tired feet climbed a weary way ; 

And even through her lightest strain 

We heard an undertone of pain. 

Unseen of her her fair frame grew, 

The good she did she rarely knew, 

Unguessed of her in life the love 

That rained its tears her grave above. 

THE CAILY TREE. 

One day as the Gary sisters were coming home from the 
little district school near the old homestead, they found a 
tinv tree, that had fallen from a nursery man's wagon, lying 
in the dusty road. "Poor little thing!" said Alice, "see how 
sick it looks!" "Let us plant it in the shade," said Phoebe, 
"it will die if we leave it here." 

So they found a cool shadj^ place near the road, and with 
sharp sticks they dug deep into the leafy mold and planted 
the little tree. 

Every day, on the way to and from school, they watered 
and cared for it, until it grew strong and straight, stretching- 
its limbs out to catch the rain and to feel the sunshine. Year 
by year it grew and thrived, and in after years when the 



SG 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



sisters visited the old home they never forgot to visit the tree 
also. . It is a beautiful spreading sycamore, and is called the 
"Gary Tree." Travelers often pay it a visit, and many pick 
a leaf as a keepsake. 

OUR HOMESTEAD. 



Phoebe Gary 










p-N- 


— ^- 


—0 — 




-0 — 


— — 


— m — 




— 


y 


-0 


— * — 


K'n .0 1 


! 




— y— 


IM; a y 


~i? 


y 



Our old brown homestead reared its walls From the 



K— 


~zN — 


1 1 




— ^-^ 


~N ^ — J— 


— i- — 
— i — 




— ^ — 

— 1 — 
—0 — 


—0 — 


€ 


^ 



way-side dust a - loof, Where the ap-ple boughs could 



-- K- 



-fe— i ^ ^ 



^'"=g-^=1 



al - most cast Their fruit up - on its roof; And the 




i ' 1 ' IS IS 


~|S N— ^ i 


? y -y y y 


:• • 5 i 



cher-ry tree so near it grew That when a-wake I've 







-^— ' 



-H — 

-0 — 



— I — 
-0 — 






e 



5—5-57- 



lain. In the lonesome nights, I've heard the limbs, As they 




^ :lzz::|=r::|^zi:t^:1: 
7— h^ — li — ' 



creak'd a - gainst the pane. And those orchard trees, 




oh those or-chard trees! I've seen my lit - tie 




brothers rock'd in their tops By the sum -mer breeze. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 87 

NOVEMBER. 

The leaves are fading and falling, 

The winds are rough and wild, 
The birds have ceased their calling. 

But let me tell you, my child, 

Though day by day, as it closes. 

Doth darjcer and colder grow, 
The roots of the bright red roses 

Will keep alive in the snow. 

And when the winter is over. 

The boughs will get new leaves, 
The quail come back to the clover. 

And the swallow back to the eaves. 

The robin will wear on his bosom 

A vest that is bright and new. 
And the loveliest wayside blossom 

Will shine with the sun and dew. 

The leaves to-day are whirling, 

The brooks are all dry and dumb. 

But let me tell you, my darling. 
The spring w411 be sure to come. 

There must be rough, cold weather. 

And winds and rains so wild; 
Not all good things together 

Come to us here, my child. 

So, when some dear joy loses 
Its beauteous summer glow, 
Think how the roots of the roses . 
Are kept alive in the snow. 

— Alice Cary. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

CELIA THAXTER. 

June 20, 1836 — Aug. 24, 1894. 

ELLA THAXTER v>-as born in the old seaport town 

of Portsmouth, New Hampshire ; but when she was 

five years of age her father removed with his 

family to White Island, one of the Isles of Shoals, near 

the New England coast, where he was the keeper of the 

lights. 

Here she lived, in a quaint, stone cottage which was 
joined to the great lighthouse by a covered walk. The cot- 
tage was strongly built to withstand the heavy storms which 



88 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

often washed the sea against it ; the walls were very thick, 
and there were deep window seats where Celia and her little 
brother made their playhouses during the long cold winters. 
There they would play from morning until night, or sit and 
watch the ships on the great stormy ocean. But in the 
spring and summer they were rarely indoors. White Island 
was their little world, and two happier children were rarely 
seen. They waded in the surf, made companions of the sand- 
pipers and the gulls, and they loved to watch the crabs, lim- 
pets and starfishes. The few wild flowers that grew on 
the island, too, were a great delight to them and the ferns 
and the mosses they called their little trees. They spread 
out the leaves of the sea-weed on the rocks, and when they 
were dry they cut from them queer figures of men, horses, 
dogs, and other animals, just as many children cut them 
from paper. 

Little Celia never feared the thunder and lightning as 
most children do, and she dearly loved to be out in the rain. 
Only when it fell so heavily that she feared drenching would 
she seek shelter in the long covered walk between the cot- 
tage and the lighthouse, there to romp and play until the 
rain ceased. 

She never tired of watching her father light the great 
lamps at night, and often begged to be allowed to light them 
herself. She understood their use and their value, and she 
wished to be a help to the great world. 

Sometimes she would lie on the sand and dream pretty 
dreams of this great world, which to her was the distant New 
England shore, and which she wished much to visit. 

When she grew older she went to live and work in the 
world of her childhood dreams ; but she wrote mostly of the 
sea, the sea birds, flowers and ferns, and the pretty fancies 
of her childhood she wove into delightful stories for chil- 
dren. She never felt at home anywhere but on the Isles of 
Shoals, and when she was married, in 1851, she went to live 
on Appledore Island, which "is near her old White Island 
home. There she wrote beautiful poems and stories and 
there she died in 1894. 

Her first poem, "Land-locked," was published by James 
Russell Lowell, who was one of her earliest literary friends. 

She was very fond of music, and she has written some 
beautiful poems to the memory of the great composers. Some 
of her books are, "Among the Isles of Shoals," "Driftwood," 
"An Island Garden," and "Stories and Poems for Children." 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



89 



Andante. 




THE 5AND MAN. 



A ^-r 



L. LlEBER. 

V ^S_ 






Who has seen the sand man strolling. Thro' the street at 
No one sees him softly gliding Thro' the homes where 
Gold-en grains so free ly scattered, In - to drow-sy 



^-^•^iEA. 



-^ — -■ 



i=i 






~A- 






ev - en-tide? From his bag the sand is roll - ing, 
children dwell, Still we know where he is hid - ing, 
eyes will creep, Lips are hush'd that gaily chatter'd, 




Plain-ly mark-ing 
For his touch is 
Wea-ry chil - dren 



ev - 'ry stride, 
quick to tell, 
fall a - sleep. 



Sand man 




sand man, Swift and kind and clev-er, Sand man, 




^-N- 



-e>- 



sand man, Vain our watch for 
By permission of Scott, Foresman & Co. 



ev 



-#- 
er 



l^i 



SEA SHORE FAIRIES. 

• ♦■tFEAR the fairy voices in this dainty shell, 

** Listen to the message they have come to tell, 

All. the sea-shell fairies, dancing on the lea 
To the ocean's music, send their love to thee. 

"Gaily, in the moonlight, fairies dance together. 
Hiding in the sea-shell when it's storniy w^eather. 

Kind words as you journey to the far-off sea, 
Give the dainty fairies one fond kiss for me." . 



90 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



THE SHELL, 



Rebecca B. ForesMan. 
Andante. 



Julia M. Adams. 




-k — I — I i-j n^— cil 



9LJIUB i^- 



ft: 



^t.-. 



held it to my ear, 



I listened glad - ly, 




while it sang A sea song sweet and clear, 



Chorus, p pp 




while it sang A sea song, sweet and clear. 

By permission of Scott, Foresman & Co. 

And that a little shell could sing, 
At first seemed strange to me, 

Until I thought that it had learned 
The music of the sea. 

I could but wish the song had words, 

For then my little shell 
The secrets of the deep blue sea 

To me would surely tell. 

For I had wondered many times 

What 'twas the water said, 
When it came rushing to the shore 

In waves high as my head. 

But never would the little shell 

Tell everything to me ; 
Although it sang fore'er, it kept 

The secrets of the sea. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 91 

EUGENE FIELD . 

Sept. 3, 1850—1895. 

I AM sure vou would like to know about the man 
who wrote "Little Boy Blue," "Pittypat and Tippy- 
toe," "The Rock-a-By-Lady" and the dear little 
queer little Dutch lullaby, "Wynken, Blynken and Nod," 
which you have learned to sing. I think I need not tell 
you that he was very fond of children, else he would not 
have written so many things to please them. 

Perhaps, though, you do' not know that he had three little 
girls and five little boys of his own, to whom he told his 
stories and repeated his poems as they sat at his knee every 
day, and who loved them as much as you do, and perhaps 
better, because their own dear papa wrote them. 

Other little boys and girls, too, were fond of him, and 
wherever he went the children gathered around him and asked 
for stories, just as his own children did at home. 

Eugene Field was the poet's name, and he was born in the 
great busy city of St. Louis. His parents were New England 
people, however, and at the death of his mother, he was sent 
to his cousin, Miss Mary French, at Amherst, Mass., to be 
prepared for college. His boyhood was spent in Massachu- 
setts and Vermont. He must have loved his cousin very 
dearly, for he named one of his own little girls Mary French. 

As a boy he was kind-hearted and generous, and he 
could never bear to see anything unhappy. He was a friend 
to all the stray and homeless dogs, and always disliked to see 
any animal caged. 

He was fond of reading and his favorite stories, he tells 
us, were those of Hans Andersen, and his American hero 
was Abraham Lincoln. 

When he grew to be a man, he went back to St. Louis 
and became a journalist. He was very successful and after- 
wards removed to Chicago, where most of his books were 
written. He has been called the "Chicago Humorist." The 
room in his house in which he wrote his books was full of 
odd toys and dolls that he had bought in his travels, and 
although they seemed such strange things for a man to be 
interested in, to him they each meant something, and he 
said they helped him in his writing. He once said that with- 
out them he could never have written his book ''With Trump- 
et and Drum." 

Mr. Field was a great lover of books. In his home he 
had more than three thousand of these friends, with whom he 
often visited. He even took them to bed with him at night. 

He was never well and strong, and in 1889 it was thought 



92 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

beat for him to make a journey abroad in the hope that his 
health might be improved. Mrs. Field and the children went 
with him, and he proposed to put the children in school while 
he and his wife were traveling ; but he found it so hard to - 
part with them that he deferred it for some months. It was 
on the night before this separation that Mr. Field wrote his 
tender little poem, "Sometime." 

"SOMETIME." 

AST night, my darling, as you slept, 

I thought I heard you sigh, 
And to your little crib I crept, 

And watched a space thereby, 
And then I stooped and kissed your brow, 

For oh ! I love you so — 
You are too young to know it now, 

But sometime you shall know ! 

Some time when, in a darkened place, 

Where others come to weep, 
Your eyes shall look upon a face 

Calm in eternal sleep, 
The voiceless lips, the wrinkled brow, 

The patient smile shall show — 
You are too young to know it now, 

But sometime you may know ! 

Look backward, then, into the years 

And see me here to-night — 
See, O my darling ! how my tears 

Are falling as I write; 
And feel once more upon your brow 

The kiss of long ago — 
You are too young to know it now, 

But sometime you will know ! 

When we remember that the father was in poor health 
and that he was parting from the children that he loved so 
well, this poem is especially full of pathos. 

The beautiful poem, "Christmas Treasures," was the first 
poem published by Mr. Field. Many of his most pleasing 
stories are published in his "A Little Book of Profitable 
Tales." During his life he made so many friends that he was 
deeply mourned when he died, in 1895. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL. 

A DUTCH LULLABY. 



93 



Eugene Field. 



Helen A. Trask. 



^^^mm^^^ 



Wynken, blynken, and Nod one night, Sailed 



^--^--^- 



,__^^^!:^H_ 



-0-T-* — ^- -H^^ id — * — ^ — ^^^^^ — 

|- I — ^ F i^— ^— ^ ^^^ — 



off in a wooden shoe, Sailed on a riv-er of 






:& 



I — p --— 0-^d 



mys - ty h'ght In - to a sea of dew; 



Where are you go-ing, and v/hat do you wish? The 



# ^ L ^ — 1 3 

old man asked the three. We have come to fish for the 



^- 



jFe 



3 



A- 



her - ring fish, That live in this beau - ti - ful 



tr^ 



m^^^^ 



^- 



1^ — :^■ 



-^-*- 



H 



~N- 



sea, 



Nets of gold and sil - ver have 




we, Said Nynken, Blinken and Nod. 
By permission of Helen A. Trask. 

HOME, SWEET HOME. 

'^^ID pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 
^ * Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home ; 
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, 
Which, seek thro' the world, is ne'er met with else- 
where. 



94 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

I gaze on the moon as I Iread the drear wild, 

And feel that my mother now thinks of her child, 

As she looks on that moon from our own cottage door. 

Thro' the woodbine whose fragrance shall cheer me no more. 

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain ; 

Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again ; 

The birds singing gaily, that came at my call ; 

Give me them and that peace of mind, dearer than all. 

Chorus : 
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home. 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. 

— John Hozvard Payne. 

PROGRAMME. 

PART I. 

Topic : Longfellow. 

Song : The Angels are Singing. 

Recitation : The Village Blacksmith. 

Story: Simple Story of the Home-life of Longfellow. (See 

page 83.) 
Recitation: The Children's Hor.r. (By the school.) 

PART n. 

Topic : Alice and Phoebe Cary. 

Song: Our Homestead. (See page 86.) 

Story : Story of the Child-life of the Cary Sisters. (To be 
told by the children.) (See page 84.) 

Recitation : Pictures of Memory, 

Story: Story of the Cary Tree. (To be told by a child.) 
(See page 85.) 

Song : In the Hayloft. 

Reading: An Order for a Picture. (By the teacher.) 

Recitation: November. (See page 87.) 

PART HL 

Topic : Celia Thaxter. 

Song: The Sandman. (See page 89.) Or 
The Shell. (See page 90.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 95 

Story: The Story of the "Spray Sprite."' — CeUa Thaxter. 
(By a httle girl representing the ""Spray Sprite,*^ 
dressed in white, wearing strings of sea-shells or sea- 
weeds. The dress and the hair may be sprinkled with 
diamond dust to represent sparkling spray.) 

Recitation : The Sandpiper. 
Song : A Summer Lullaby. 
Recitation : The Alder by the River. 
Reading : Little Gustave. 
Or 
A Poppy Seed. 

Or 
The Water-Bloom. 
Song : Song of the Waves. 
Or 
Sea-Shore Fairies. (Sec page 89.) 

PART IV. 

Topic: Eugene Field. (Each child who takes part may 
wear pink carnations, Mr. Field's favorite flower.) 

Song: The Tiptoe Song. (By two children coming in on 
tiptoe.) 

Recitation : Pittj^pat and Tippytoe. (By the same children.) 

Song : The Drum. 

Reading: Little Boy Blue. 

Story: Story of Home-life of Eugene Field. (Told by a 
child.) (See page 91.) 

Song: Wynken. Blynken and Nod. (See page 93.) 

Song: Home, Sweet Home. (See page 93.) 



^•POETS' BIR.THDAYS. ^ 



INTERMEDIATE GRADES. 

Bryant, Whittier, Longfellow,, Lowell, Emerson, 

Holmes. 

THERE is a time between the study of autumnal flowers 
and fruits and the study of the awakening Hfe in the 
spring, a time when the earth is bound by its icy chain, 
that may be profitably devoted to the study of some of our 
best American authors. 

Fortunately the birthdays of most of the authors we wish 
particularly to study come during this time. Bryant's in No- 
vember when the children are much interested in nature in 
the "sere and yellow leaf," and when they are watching all 
things preparing for their winter's sleep. 

"When the sound of dropping nuts is heard, 

though all the trees are still, 
And twinkle in the smoky light the waters 

of the rill." 

Whittier's birthday is in December when we are glad to 
sit comfortably beside the fire and study "Snow-Bound;" 
and Longfellow's and Lowell's are both in February. 

During the autumn some of the poems of these authors 
have been studied, and just before the birthday of the author 
his poems with which the children are familiar may be re- 
called and new ones added. Some the teacher will wish only 
to read ; others she will wish to have the children study and 
reproduce; and still others, the choicest, to have them mem- 
orize. 

The birthday exercises help to arouse in the children a 
lively interest in the author, and to create a desire for a more 
extended study of his works. They also help to associate 
an author with his writings. 

Children who are thus led to become interested in an 
author usually get his books, and in this way little home 
libraries are often started. 

It is not necessary to have the exercises on the birthday 
of the author; but it helps to establish a fact in history some- 
times, and if convenient they should be given at that time. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 97 

Teatchers* References. 

Poets of America. — Edmund Clarence Stedman. 

Authors' Birthdays. — C. W. Bardeen. 

Home Life of Great Authors. — H. I. Griswold, 

Poets' Homes. — R. H. Stoddard. 

Homes of American Authors. — Mrs. Strickland. 

Great Men and Famous Women. — Selmar Hess. 

Personal Recollections of America's Seven Great Poets. 

— M. T. Savage, "Arena," 1885. 
Talks About Authors. — Ella Reeve Ware. (A.Flanagan.) 

Bryant. Nov. 3, 1794. 

Life of Bryant. — Parke Godwin. 

William Cullen Bryant. — George Ripley, "Harper's," Apr., 

1851. 
Memorial Pamphlet, "New York Evening Post." 
William Cullen Bryant. — Horatio N. Powers, "Century," 

Aug., 1878. 
The Bryant Vase. — Samuel Osgood, "Harpers," July 

1876. 
Outline Studies in Bryant. (Unity Leaflets) 
Bryant and His Friends. — Wilson. 

Whittier. Dec. 17, 1807. 

John Greenleaf Whittier, His Life, Genius and Writings. 
— W. Sloane Kennedy, 

Life and Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier. — Samuel T. 
Pickard. 

Life of John Greenleaf Whittier. — W. J. Linton. 

Boyhood of Whittier.— W. H. Rideing, "St. Nicholas," 
Oct., 1887. 

Whittier With the Children. — Margaret Sidney. 

Child Life in Prose. — Whittier. 

Child Life in Poetry. — Whittier. 

The Quaker Poet. — Harriet Prescott Spofford, "Har- 
pers," Jan., 1884. 

Whittier, His Life and Friends. — Annie Fields, "Har- 
pers," Feb., 1893. 

A Visit to the Birthplace of Whittier. — C. L. Tosten, 
"Scribner's," Sept., 1872. 

Lowell. Feb. 22, 1819. 

Life of Lowell. — F. H. Underwood. 

Life of Lowell. — E. E. Brown. 

James Russell Lowell. — Edmund Clarence Stedman, 

"Century," May, 1882. 
Outline Studies in Lowell. (Unity Leaflets) 



9S SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Longfellow. Feb. 27, 1807. 

Life of Longfellow. — W. Sloane Kennedy. 

Life of Longfellow. — Francis H. Underwood. 

Life and Letters of Longfellow. — Rev. Samuel Longfel- 
low. 

Studies in Longfellow. — W. C. Gannett. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. — R. H. Stoddard, "Scrib- 
ner's," Nov., 1878. 

The Celebration of Longfellow's Seventy-fifth Birthday. — 
Maine Historical Society. 

Emerson. May 25, 1803. 

Life of Emerson. — Holmes. 

Emerson, The Lecturer. — Lowell, in "My Study Win- 
dows." 

Emerson and Carlyle. — Henry James, Jr., "Century," 
June, 1883. 

Emerson in His Home. — F. B. Sanborn, "Arena," Dec, 
1885. 

Carlyle and Emerson. — "Atlantic," Apr., 1883. 

Holmes. Aug. 29, 1809. 

Life and Letters of Oliver Wendell Holmes. — John T. 

Morse, Jr. 
Life of Holmes. — E. E. Brown. 
Life of Holmes. — W. Sloane Kennedy. 
American Humorists. — Haweis. 
Oliver Wendell Holmes. — Edmund Clarence Stedman, 

"Century," Feb., 1885. 
Outline Studies in Holmes. (Unity Leaflets) 

Songs : 

A Maple Leaf. — Volkmann. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
In the Woods. — Haupmann. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
The Apple-Tree. — Carl Reineche. (Scott, Foresman & 

Co.) 
Farewell to the Woods. — Esser. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
Under the Greenwood Tree. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
Friendship. — Mozart. (Scott, Foresman & Co). 
Keller's American Hymn. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
The Brooklet. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
To His Country. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 
The Corn Song, (Scott, Foresman & Co) 

Softly Rustle the Leaves. — Kuhmsteadt. (American 

Book Company) 
To the Cuckoo. — Wordsworth. (American Book Com- 

paay) 



SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 99 

Give Thy Heart's Best Treasures. — A. Procter, (Ameri- 
can Book Compaii}') 
Building. (American Book Company) 

The Brave Old Oak.— Hill. (C. W. Bardeen) 
The Song of the Maples. (C. W. Bardeen) 
Hemlock Tree. (C. W. Bardeen) 

(In Skinner's "Arbor Day Music") 
The Willow ' Song. — Jennie Youngs. (The Wyatt 

Company) 
The Maple. — Jennie Youngs. (The Wyatt Company) 
The Winter Song of the Tree. — Jennie Youngs. (The 

Wyatt Company) 

The Song of the Rose. — "Golden Robin." 
Our Country's Call. — ''Patriotic Songs." 

The Arrow and the Song. (Published in sheet music) 
The Bridge. (Published in sheet music) 
The Day is Done. (Published in sheet music) 
The Psalm of Life. (Published in sheet music) 

BRYANT. 

Nov. 3, 1/94 — June I2, 1878. 



M 



ANY of the poems of Bryant, the American 
Wordsworth, are peculiarly adapted to the un- 
derstanding of children, but judicious selection 
should be made in introducing him. The duty of the teacher 
is to create a taste for further study of each author. 

The birthday of Bryant is, fortunately, in November, 
just after the children have studied, read or recited his 
"Autumn Woods," "To a Waterfowl," and "To a Fringed 
Gentian." As a lover of nature he is now a friend of theirs, 
and may be introduced through his simple nature poems and 
his stories in verse. 

Poems Suggested for Study: (Nature) 

To a Waterfowl. October 

To a Fringed Gentian. November. 

Autumn Woods. March 

The Painted Cup. Green River. 

The Death of the Flowers. The West Wind. 

The Song of the Sower. The Planting of the Apple- 

The Gladness of Nature. Tree. 

A Summer Ramble. Robert of Lincoln. 

A Winter Piece. The Snow Shower, 
The Yellow Violet. 



Lof 



r> 



100 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



Selections from : 

Thanatopsis. Life. 

The Forest Hymn. Inscription for the Entrance to 

a Wood. 

(Patriotic Poems) 
Our Country's Call Death of Lincoln, 
The Battle Field. Death of Slavery. 

(Stories in Verse) 

The White-Footed Deer. Sella, 

The African Chief. Little People of the Snow. 

TO THE FR.INGED GENTIAN. 

THOU blossom bright with autumn dew, 
And colored with the heaven's own blue, 
That openest when the quiet light 
Succeeds the keen and frosty night. 

Thou comest not v\?hen violets lean 

O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen, 

Or columbines in purple dressed, 

Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest. 

Thou waltest late and com'st alone, 
When woods are bare and birds have flown. 
And frosts and shortening days portend 
The aged year is near his end. 

Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye 
Look through its fringes to the sky, 
Blue — blue — as if that sky let fall 
A flower from its cerulean wall. 

I would that thus, when I shall see 

The hour of death draw near to me, 

Hope, blossoming within my heart. 

May look to heaven as I depart. — Bryant. 



THE GLADNESS OF NATURE. 

IS this a time to be cloudy and sad, 
When our mother Nature laughs around ; 
When even the deep blue heavens look glad, 
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground? 

There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren, 
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky ; 

The ground-squirrel gaily chirps by his den, 
And the wilding bee hums merrily by. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 101 

The clouds are at play in the azure space 

And their shadows at play on the bright green vale, 

And here they stretch to the frolic chase, 
And there they roll on the easy gale. 

There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower, 
There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree. 

There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower 
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the 5ea. 

And look on the broad-faced sun, how he smiles 
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray, 

On the leaping waters and gay young isles ; 
Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away. 

— Bryant. 

M A R.C H . 

I HE stormy March is come at last, 
^ With wind, and cloud, and changing skies ; 
I hear the. rushing of the blast, 

That through the snowy valley flies. 

Ah, passing few are they who speak. 

Wild, stormy month ! in praise of thee ; 
Yet though thy winds are loud and bleak, 

Thou art a welcome month to me. 

For thou, to northern lands, again 

The glad and glorious sun doth bring, 

And thou hast joined the gentle train 
And wear'st the gentle name of Spring. 

And, in thy reign of blast and storm, 

Smiles many a long, bright, sunny day. 

When the changed winds are soft and warm, 
And heaven puts on the blue of Alay. 

Then sing aloud the gushing rills 

In joy that they again are free, 
And, brightly leaping down the hills, 

Renew their journey to the sea. 

The year's departing beauty hides 

Of wintry storms the sullen threat ; 
But in thy sternest frown abides 

A look of kindly promise yet. 

Thou bring'st the hope of those calm skies, 
And that soft time of sunny showers, 



102 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL . 

When the wide bloom, on earth that Hes, 
Seems of a brighter world than ours. 

— Bryant. 

These poems of Bryant are used by special permission of 
D. Appleton & Company, publishers of the poetical and the 
prose works of William Cullen Bryant. 

BRYANT'S BIRTHDAY PROGRAM. 

PART I. 

Song : The Rose. 

Topic : Bryant, the American Poet of Nature. 

(a) His home, surroundings, rambles, influences, read- 
ings, etc. 

(b) His admiration for Wordsworth, the English Poet 
of Nature. 

{c) Favorite poems from Wordsworth, 
(d) Influence of these poems on his writings. 
Recitations : 

To the Fringed Gentian, (See page lOO.) 

Among the Trees.' 

To a Waterfowl. (See Bird Days.) 

Autumn Woods. 

The Gladness of Nature. (See page lOO.) 

The Planting of the Apple-Tree. ((See Arbor Day.) 

The Yellow Violet. ^ 

March. (See page loi.) 

Song: In the Woods. — Haupmann. 

PART II. 

Topic: Bryant As a Story Writer. 

(a) The Story of Sella. 

(b) The Story of Little People of the Snow. 

(Selections from each recited.) 

Readings : 

The White-Footed Deer. The African Chief. 

Song : To The Cuckoo. — Wordsworth. 

PART III. 
Topic: Bryant as a Patriot. 

Recitations : 

The Death of Lincoln. The Battle-Field. 

From The Death of Slavery, 

Song : Our Country's Call. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 105 

PART IV. 

Essay : Bryant's Home Life and Friends. 

(a) Bryant's wife and family. 

(b) Friends among the poets and authors. 

(c) Friends among statesmen. 

(d) His seventieth birthday celebration. 

(e) His eightieth birthday present, the Bryant vase. 

Recitations : 

The Death of the Flowers. (To his sister.) 

O Fairest of the Rural Maids. (To the woman who 

became his wife.) 
Selections from ''Bryant's Seventieth Birthday," Holmes; 

or "Bryant on His Birthday," Whittier. 

Song : Give Thy Heart's Best Treasures. 

Give thy heart's best treasures ; 

From fair Nature learn ; 
Give thy love and ask not, 

Wait not a return. 
And the more thou spendest 

From thy little store. 
With a double bounty, 

God will give thee more. 

— Adelaide Procter. 



WHITTIER. 

Dec. 17, 1807. — Sept. 7, 1892. 

I 'O the children Whittier has become the poet of 
* every-day life. He was one who constantly saw 
beauty in the common things in the midst of which 
the children live. 

The story of his life in boyhood, youth and manhood 
appeals to children as few such histories do ; and the thought 
of the purity, simplicity and earnestness that characterized all 
of his acts should be brought impressively before them. 

His work during the Civil War is especially interesting, 
and the love shown by him for the children in his later writ- 
ings brings him still nearer to them. 

Among the Perry Pictures are the following, which will 
interest the children in their study of this poet : 

Portrait of Whittier. His Home, Amesbury. 

His Home, Oak Knoll. Barbara Frietchie. 



104 SPECIAT. DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Poems Suggested for Study: (Nature) 

The Corn Song. Autumn Thoughts. 

The Last Walk in Autumn. St. Martin's Summer. 

For an Autumn Festival. A Dream of Summer. 

The Mayflowers. The Palm-Tree. 

The Trailing Ardutus. 

(Patriotic Poems) 
Our Countrymen in Chains. Ichabod. 
The Peace Autumn. Barbara Frietchie. 

The Return of the Birds. The Hive at Gettysburg. 

The Christmas Carmen. The Emancipation Group. 

(Stories in Verse) 
Snow-Bound. My Playmate. 

In School Days. (See below.) The Barefoot Boy. 

(See page 105.) 
The Robin. King Solomon and the 

The Cypress-Tree of Ceylon. Ants. 

The Witch's Daughter. Skipper Ireson's Ride. 

IN SCHOOL DAYS. 

STILL sits the school-house by the road, 
A ragged beggar sunning; 
Around it still the sumachs grow, 
And blackberry vines are running. 

Within, the master's desk is seen, 

Deep scarred by raps official ; 
The warping floor, the battered seats. 

The jack-knife's carved initial; 

The charcoal frescos on its wall ; 

Its door's worn sill, betraying 
The feet that, creeping slow to school, 

Went storming out to playing ! 

Long years ago a winter sun 

Shone over it at setting ; 
Lit up its western window-panes 

And low eaves' icy fretting. 

It touched the tangled golden curls, 

And brown eyes full of grieving. 
Of one who still her steps delayed 

When all the school were leaving. 

For near her stood the little boy 

Her childish favor singled : 
His cap pulled low upon a face 

Where pride and shame were mingled. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 105 

Pushing with restless feet the snow 
To right and left, he lingered ; — 

As restlessly her tiny hands 

The blue-checked apron fingered. 

. He saw her lift her eyes ; he felt 
The soft hand's light caressing, 
And heard the tremble of her voice. 
As if a fault confessing. 

'I'm sorry that I spelt the word : 

I hate to go above j^ou, 
Because," — the brown eyes lower fell, — 

"Because, you see, I love you 1" 

Still memory to a gray-haired man 

That sweet child-face is showing. 
Dear girl ! the grasses on her grave 

Have forty years been growing ! 

He lives to learn, in life's hard school. 

How few who pass above him 
Lament their triumph and his loss, 
Like her, — because they love him. 

— Whittier. 
By permission of Houghton. Mifflin & Co. 

THE BAREFOOT BOV. 

LESSINGS on thee, little man, 

Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan ! 

With thy turned-up pantaloons. 
And thy merry whistled tunes ; 
With thy red lip, redder still 
Kissed by strawberries on the hill ; 
With the sunshine on thy face. 
Through thj^ torn brim's jaunty grace; 
From my heart I give thee joy, — 
I was once a barefoot boy ! 
Prince thou art, — the grown-up man 
Only is republican. 
Let the million-dollared ride ! 
Barefoot, trudging at his side, 
Thou hast more than he can buy 
In the reach of ear and eye, — 
Outward sunshine, inward joy: 
Blessings on thee, barefoot boy! 

O for boyhood's painless play, 
Sleep that wakes in laughing day. 



106 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Health that mocks the doctor's rules, 
Knowledge never learned of schools, 
Of the wild bee's morning chase, 
Of the wild-flower's time and place, 
Flight of fowl and habitude 
Of the tenants of the wood ; 
How the tortoise bears his shell, 
How the woodchuck digs his cell, 
And the ground-mole sinks his well ; 
How the robin feeds her young, 
How the oriole's nest is hung; 
Where the whitest lilies blow. 
Where the freshest berries grow. 
Where the groundnut trails its vine, 
Where the wood-grape's clusters shine; 
Of the black wasp's cunning way, 
Mason of his walls of clay. 
And the architectural plans 
Of gray hornet artisans ! — 
For, eschewing books and tasks, 
Nature answers all he asks ; 
Hand in hand with her he walks, 
Face to face with her he talks, 
Part and parcel of her joy, — 
Blessings on the barefoot boy ! 

O for boyhood's time of June, 
Crowding years in one brief moon, 
When all things I heard or saw, 
Me, their master, waited for. 
I was rich in flowers and trees, 
Humming-birds and honey-bees ; 
For my sport the squirrel played, 
Plied the snouted mole his spade ; 
For my taste the blackberry cone 
Purpled over hedge and stone ; 
Laughed the brook for my delight 
Through the day and through the night, 
Whispering at the garden wall, 
Talked with me from fall to fall ; 
Mine the sand-rimmed pickerel pond. 
Mine the walnut slopes beyond, 
Mine, on bending orchard trees, 
Apples of Hesperides ! 
Still as my horizon grew. 
Larger grew my riches too. 
All the world I saw or knew 
Seemed a complex Chinese toy, 
Fashioned for a barefoot boy ! 




H 
tn 

o 

< 
m 
m 

< 

w 
o 

w 

ca 

M 

H 

M 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 107 

O for festal dainties spread, 
Like my bowl of milk and bread, — 
Pewter spoon and bowl of wood, 
On the door-stone, gray and rude! 
O'er me, like a regal tent, 
Cloudy-ribbed, the sunset bent, 
Purple-curtained, fringed with gold. 
Looped in many a wind-swung fold ; 
While for music came the play 
Of the pied frogs' orchestra ; 
And, to light the noisy choir, 
Lit the fly his lamp of fire. 
I was monarch: pomp and joy 
Waited on the barefoot boy ! 

Cheerily, then, my little man. 
Live and laugh as boyhood can! 
Though the flinty slopes be hard. 
Stubble-speared the new-mown sward, 
Every morn shall lead thee through 
Fresh baptisms of the dew ; 
Every evening from thy feet 
Shall the cool wind kiss the heat: 
All too soon these feet must hide 
In the prison cells of pride. 
Lose the freedom of the sod. 
Like a colt's for work be shod, 
Made to tread the mills of toil. 
Up and down in ceaseless moil : 
Happy if their track be found 
Never on forbidden ground ; 
Happy if they sink not in 
Quick and treacherous sands of sin. 
Ah! that thou couldst know thy joy, 
Ere it passes, barefoot boy! — JVhittier. 

By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

LIFE OF WHITTIER. 

Dec. 17, 1807— Sept. 7, 1892. 

NOT so very far from the Plymouth where the Pil- 
grims landed is the little town of Haverhill and the 
old farm house which we want to visit, the Whittier 
birthplace. And the ocean, that great ocean which the brave 
Puritans crossed, is still nearer to Whittier's early home. 
As he him.self has told us — 

"The wind blew east; we heard the roar 
Of Ocean on his wintry shore." 



108 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Let us imagine how the old home looked on that day, 
so many years ago, when no doubt the hills and the fields 
were drifted with snow. On December 17th (the same 
month in which the Pilgrims nearly two hundred years be- 
fore landed on the New England coast), came a little 
stranger into the Whittier home. Only a little baby boy 
into a humble New England farm house. 

How little his mother and father guessed that their 
babv boy, whom they named John Greenleaf — a good, honest, 
plain name — would ever grow up to be so dear to people 
all over America. A poor, plain, little boy, living a quiet, 
country life, enjoying outdoor play as any boy does; always, 
however, in his work or play, noble and true-hearted, he grew 
into a noble manhood. We love to remember and honor 
such lives as this. 

I have just told you he was a poor boy. Now I must 
tell you of his riches. Some of the children smile and say, 
"How can this be?" Will you be surprised to hear that 
this little boy grew up to be one of the greatest and best 
poets? His riches he has left us if we care to use them. 
They were his beautiful thoughts. These thoughts, as he 
grew older, came to take the form of poetry, as we call it. 
I think poetry is only heart music set to words. And these 
words, although we may not sing them to any given tune, 
go down and sing themselves over to our souls, as they sung 
themselves to Whittier and other poets. This kind of riches 
we can take with us into the great, beautiful life "Beyond," 
for 

"As the soul liveth 
It shall live 
Beyond the years of time." 

Where, you ask, did the farmer boy get his beautiful 
thoughts? I am sure he had a book first, the great "nature 
book," which is spread above, below, around us everywhere. 
He had but few other books, and none of the pretty picture 
books which children have now. The few books which he 
had he loved and read again and again. The almanac was 
studied carefully by the children as well as by their elders. 
A copy of Burns' poems, also of Shakespeare's, which came 
into his hands when he was nearly twenty, gave him great 
enjoyment. But, oh! how he loved the "nature book" from 
his earliest^ childhood. Every cloud in the sky, the birds 
and the animals, the trees and the flowers, the insects, the 
brook flowing along the hillside, the sea with its many waves 
and changes, the snow, the winds — all had voices for him. 
He said little, but he listened and saw and thought much. 

There are three of his poems which tell us a great deal 
about his own childhood's home and life. They are "Snow- 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 109 

Bound." 'The Barefoot Boy," and "In School Days." ''My 
Playmate," too, is a dear little poem 'for you to read some 
day, and there are many others. But most of all do I want 
you to know now these three which I have named, that you 
may feel better acquainted with the boy Whittier, and so bet- 
ter understand his later life. "Snow-Bound" is a long poem, 
but if you cannot read it perhaps some one will read it for 
you. You will learn to love it, I am sure. Let us take the 
book now and read a Httle of this poem together. 

Here we get a real glimpse of the Whittier home, and let 
us imagine we can see the family gathered about the big 
kitchen fire-place. In those days the kitchen was used a 
great deal, and the kitchen in the Whittier house was large 
and long, with painted floor and low ceiling. In one corner 
was a cupboard, with some quaint old dishes which, with 
a desk, a table, some chairs, the spinning wheel, and a 
few pictures, alm.ost completed the furniture of the room. 
But at night, when the great logs were piled on the fire-place, 
with the warm, red glow, came a change, 

"Until the old, rude-furnished room 
Burst flower-like, into rosy bloom." 

sfc ^ ^ ^ ^ ;|c 

Shut in from all the world without. 
We sat the clean-winged hearth about, 

Content to let the north wind roar 
In bafiied rage at pane and door. 

^; ^ ^ ;fc ^ ^ 

The house dog on his paws outspread. 

Laid to the fire his drowsy head, 
The cat's dark silhouette on the wall 

A couchant tiger's seemed to fall ; 
And," for the winter fireside meet. 

Between the andirons' straddling feet, 
The mug of cider simmered slow, 

The apples sputtered in a row. 
And, close at hand the basket stood 

With nuts from brown October's wood." 

Can you see it all, children? Do we not feel sure, as 
we read on, that the boy Whittier had a happy home and a 
comfortable home, too, although it might seem rather plain 
to us ? What a beautiful picture he has given us of his" 
mother and his two sisters, both of whom were very dear 
to the boy. We can imagine, too, the stern, but kind old 
father, with his snow white hair, telling stories of his trav- 
els and of the Indians. Then there was the Aunt Mercy, 
whose stories were equally precious to the children, and the 



110 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

uncle, who could best tell them of the delights of hunting 
and fishing. Sometimes the schoolmaster, or a guest from 
the village, came to pass the long evenings with them. 

Over the fireplace hung a bull's-eye watch, and when 
this watch pointed to the hour of nine, off went little John 
and his brother to their cold room upstairs, where often 
during the night the snow sifted in through cracks in the 
walls, falling on the' boys' faces. But little they cared for 
this, and with hearts untroubled they slept the sweet sleep 
of childhood. 

Did you know, children, that this home which once be- 
longed to the Whittiers, still stands ? That the dear old 
kitchen, with its same furniture even to the watch, is still 
as in those days told of in "Snow-Bound?" 

I hope you may be able some day to visit the place. You 
will feel, I am sure, as much reverence as you cross the 
threshold of this house as if it were a grand palace or a 
church. The spirit of him whose life and writings have 
made it dear to us seems very near to one there. 

Now, let us imagine it is summer time and let us stand 
on the rustic bridge which spans the brook. 

Oh, children ! If you could see this brook, you would 
not wonder that the boy loved to wander along its banks ; 
that he felt himself rich, as 

"Laughed the brook for my delight. 
Through the day and through the night." 

These lines you will find in "The Barefoot Boy," and I 
rather think many a time John Greenleaf's bare feet dipped 
into this very brook. It winds in and out among the trees 
and grasses, a hill at one side covered with many varieties 
of trees, some bending lovingly over the water. Every 
few steps brings one into some pretty nook where ferns, 
mosses and flowers grow along the water's edge. 

"I was rich in flowers' and trees ; 
Humming-birds and honey-bees ; 
For my sport the squirrel played, 

* * * 5it * >K * 

For my taste the blackberry cone 
Purpled over hedge and stone; 

****** Hs 

Mine, the walnut slopes beyond, 
Mine, on bending orchard trees. 
Apples of Hesperides ! 
Still, as my horizon grew. 
Larger grew my riches too." 
Do you think the one whose birthday we rememb'^r to- 
day sowed good seeds in his lifetime? The "little things," 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 111 

the everyday things, the "here and now" are what count 
in a Hfetime. 

Have you heard about the Amesbury home of J, G. Whit- 
tier? How he lived the latter half of his life, many long, 
patient years in this home? Amesbury is, perhaps, less 
than an hour's ride from Haverhill. He never traveled 
abroad, as so many of our poets and writers do. In fact, 
an occasional visit to Boston, to Hampton Falls, or Danvers, 
to the "Isles of Shoals," where lived a. dear friend, Celia 
Thaxter, sometimes a visit to the lakes or mountains formed 
the few breaks in his quiet life after the excitement of our 
Civil War was ended. Whittier's part in this slavery strug- 
gle was with pen and not sword. 

The house at Amesbury stands a little back from the elm- 
shaded street, a very pleasant looking New England home, 
large and comfortable, but plainer and simpler than that of 
Longfellow and others of our New England writers. The 
library in which he sat, while writing so many of his poems, 
overlooks the yard and garden at the side and back, and a 
door opens from it on to the vine-covered porch where the 
poet often sat. You would enjoy very much a glimpse into 
this library which is kept about as when he used it. 

His dear old home friends passed away long before Whit- 
tier's life was ended, and he endured many lonely hours. 
You would never know from his poems so cheerful and trust- 
ful, how feeble his health was, how many long sleepless 
nights he spent for years. There were many dear friends 
who loved him, but you know these could not always fill 
the place of his own household. 

"I long for household voices gone, 

For vanished smiles I long, 
But God hath led my dear ones on, 

And he can do no harm." 

So, at last, when Whittier's head wore a "silver crown" 
and his life had ripened for the heavenly home, he, too, 
was led on beyond our sight, but not from our hearts. I 
love to think that it was in September, in the crowning sea- 
son of the year, when Whittier, crowned with the fruitage 
of good deeds and kindly thoughts, was called home. How 
humble he himself felt in regard to his life, we may learn 
from this poem, one of his last : 

"No gate of pearl, no branch of palm I merit. 
No street of shining gold. 

Some humble door among the many mansions 

Some sheltering shade where sin and striving cease, 



112 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And flows forever through heaven's green expansions 

The river of thy peace. 
There from the music round me stealing, 
I fain would learn the new and holy song, 
And find at last beneath thy trees of healing, 
The life for which I long.'' 

— Lilian Medora Cherry. 
By permission. 

WHITTIER'S BIRTHDAY PR.OGRAMME. 

PART I. 

Song: The Brooklet. — Hoffmann. 
Topic: Whittier, The Boy. 

Life on the Farm, with the Story of Snow--Bound. 
The following quotations to be given by different chil- 
dren, as called for in the story : 

"The sun that brief December day" — 

to 
"Of Pisa's leaning miracle." 
"As night drew on" — 

to 
"Our own warm hearth seemed blazing free." 
"Shut in from all the world without" — 

to 
"With nuts from brown October's wood." 

Quote what is said of: 
The father. 
The mother. 
The brother, Matthew. 
The elder sister, Mary. 
The younger sister, . Elizabeth. 
The uncle, Moses Whittier. 
The aunt, Mercy Hussey. 
The guest, Harriet Livermore. 
The schoolmaster. 

Recitations : 

Barefoot Boy. (See page 105.) 

My Playmate. 

In School Days. (See page 104.) 

PART n. 

Song: The Corn Song. — Klein. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 113 

Topic : Whittier in Youth and Manhood. 

(a) His early education. 

(b) His apprenticeship as shoemaker. 

(c) His school life at Haverhill. 

(d) His early writings, showing his love and apprecia- 

tion of the common things of life. 

Recitations : From — 

The Shoemakers. The River Path. 

The Huskers. St. Martin's Summer. 

The Pumpkin. 

Song: The Harvest. (Tune, Ward.) 

PART HI. 

Topic : Whittier and Slavery. 

Recitations : 

Our Country in Chains. The Song of the Free. 

Ichabod, with story. 

Songs : 

The Suwanee River. The Banner of the Free. 

PART IV. 

Topic : Whittier's Later Life and Works. 

(a) His homes. (b) Writings, 

(c) Friends. 

Recitations : 

To John Greenleaf Whittier. — Holmes. 
John Greenleaf Whittier. — Phoebe Cary. 

Song: My Psalm. (Tune, Dundee.) 

That all the jarring notes of life 

Seem blending in a psalm. 
And all the angles of its strife 
Slow rounding into calm. 

And so the shadows fall apart, 

And so the west-winds play ; 
And all the windows of my heart 

I open to the day. — Whittier. 

Or, The Eternal Goodness. 

I know not what the future hath 

Of marvel or surprise, 
Assured alone that life and death 

His mercy underlies. 



114 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And so beside the Silent Sea 

I wait the muffled oar ; 
No harm from Him can come to me 

On ocean or on shore. 

I know not where His islands lift 

Their fronded palms in air ; 
I only know I cannot drift 

Beyond His love and care. — Whittier. 



LOWELL. 

Feb. 22, 1819 — A.ng. 12, 1891. 

ECAUSE of Lowell's many beautiful poems on the 

trees, the children have come to know him as the 

"Tree Poet." As a lover of trees they should know 

him at first, and through his poems on the trees come to 

feel that a tree is really a thing of life, to be honored and 

loved. 

To have a day with Lowell and the trees is a good prep- 
aration for Arbor Day ; and although his birthday is in Feb- 
ruary, it seems like a herald of spring to have a talk and 
study of the trees at this time. 

Pictures of the representative trees may be grouped pret- 
tily about the portrait of Lowell, and below the words, 

"LowelLand Some of His Friends." 

I care not how men trace their ancestry, 
To ape or Adami ; let them please their whim ; 
But I in June am midway to believe 
A tree among my far progenitors. 
Such sympathy is mine with all the race. 
Such mutual recognition vaguely sweet 
There is between us. Surely there are times 
When they consent -to own me of their kin, 
And condescend to me and call me cousin, 
Murmuring faint lullabies of eldest time, 
Forgotten, and yet dumbly felt with thrills. 
Moving the lips though fruitless of all words. 
And I have many a lifelong, leafy friend. 
Never estranged nor careful of my soul. 
That knows I hate the axe, and welcomes me 
Within its tent as if I were a bird. 
Or other free companion of the earth, 
Yet undegenerate to the shifts of men. 

—Lowell. (From "Under the Willows.") 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 115 

THE FIRST SNOW FALL. 

'HE snow had begun in the gloaming, 

And busily all the night 
Had been heaping field and highway 

With a silence deep and white. 

Every pine and fir and hemlock 
Wore ermine too dear for an earl. 

And the poorest twig on the elm-tree 
Was ridged inch deep with pearl. 

From sheds new-roofed with Carrara 

Came Chanticleer's muffled crow, 
The stiff rails softened to swan's-down, 

And still fluttered down the snow. 

I stood and watched by the window 

The noiseless work of the sky, 
And the sudden flurries of snow-birds, 

Like brown leaves whirling by. 

I thought of a mound In sweet Auburn 

Where a little headstone stood ; 
How the flakes were folding it gently, 

As did robins the babes in the wood. 

Up spoke our little Mabel, 

Saying "Father, who makes it snow?" 

And I told of the good All-Father 
Who cares for us here below. 

Again I looked at the snow-fall, 

And thought of the leaden sky 
That arched o'er our first great sorrow. 

When that mound was heaped so high. 

I remembered the gradual patience 
That fell from that cloud like snow. 

Flake by flake, healing and hiding 
The scar that renewed our woe. 

And again to the child I whispered, 

"The snow that husheth all, 
Darling, the merciful Father 

Alone can make it fall!" 

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her ; 

And she, kissing back, could not know 
That my kiss was given to her sister, 

Folded close under deepening snow. — Lozvell. 

By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



116 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL. 

JUNE. 

ND what is so rare as a day in June? 

Then, if ever, come perfect days; 
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, 

And over it softly her warm ear lays : 
Whether we look or whether we Hsten, 
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten; 
Every clod feels a stir of might, 

An instinct within it that reaches and towers. 
And groping blindly above it for light. 

Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers ; 
The flush of life may well be seen 

Thrilling back over hills and valleys; 
The cowslip startles in meadows green, 

The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, 
And there's never a leaf or a blade too mean 

To be some happy creature's palace ; 
The little bird sits at his door in the sun, 

Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, 
And lets his illumined being o'errun 

With the deluge of summer it receives ; 
His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings, 
And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings; 
He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest, — 
In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best? 

Now is the high-tide of the year. 

And whatever of life hath ebbed away 
Comes flooding back, with a ripply cheer, 
Into every bare inlet and creek and bay ; 
Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it, 
We are happy now because God wills it ; 
No matter how barren the past may have been, 
'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green ; 
We sit in the warm shade and feel right well 
How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell ; 
We may shut our eyes, but we cannot help knowing 
That skies are clear and grass is growing ; 
The breeze comes whispering in our ear, 
That dandelions are blossoming near, 
That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing, 
That the river is bluer than the sky, 
That the robin is plastering his house hard by ; • 
And if the breeze kept the good news back, 
For other couriers we should not lack ; 

We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing, — 
And hark ! how clear bold chanticleer, 
Warmed with the new wine of the year, 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 117 

Tells all in his lusty crowing ! 
Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how; 
Everything is happy now, 

Everything is upward striving; 
'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true 
As for grass to be green or skies to be blue, — 

'Tis the natural way of living : 
Who knows whither the clouds have fled? 

In the unscarred heaven they leave no wake; 
And the eyes forget the tears they have shed. 

The heart forgets its sorrow and ache; 
The soul partakes the season's youth, 

And the sulphurous rifts of passion and woe 
Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth, 

Like burnt-out craters healed with snow. 

—Lowell. (From "The Vision of Sir Launfal") 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

LOWELL'S BIR.THDAY PROGRAMME. 
LOWELL AND THE TREES. 

Song: The Winter Song of the Trees.— Jennie Youngs. 

Topic: Lowell's Love for Trees. 

(a) His birthplace, Elmwood. 

(b) Rarnbles with his mother. 

(c) Their readings. 

(d) Lowell's Study Windows. 

(e) How he made the trees hi-e companions. 

Quotations: From "Under the Willows." 

"I care_ not how men trace their ancestry," 
— eighteen lines. 

"In June 'tis good to lie beneath a tree," 
— fifteen lines. 

"As to an oak, and precious more and more," 
— ten lines. 

"Among them one, an ancient willow, spreads." 
— twenty-two lines. 

"This willow is as old to me as life," 
— nine lines. 

"My soul went forth, and mingling with the tree." 
— nine lines. 

Song: The Willow Song. — Jennie Youngs. 



118 SPECIAL DA,YS IN SCHOOL 

Reproduction : The Ballad of Singing Leaves. 

Song : Softly Rustle the Leaves. 

Recitations : 

The Oak. To a Pine Tree. The Birch Tree, 

Song : The Brave Old Oak.— Hill. 

Recitations : 

(Spring) The Maple. 

(Autumn) Under the October Maples. 

Song : The Song of the Maples. 

Recitations : 

On planting a Tree at Liverary. 

Selections from "An Indian Summer Reverie." 

I The Oak. 5. The Red Oak. 

2. The Birch. 6. The Chestnut. 

3. The Swamp Oak. ■ 7. The Elm, and 

4. The Ash. 8. Woodbine. 

(By seven children). 

Song : Farewell to the Woods. — Esser. 

LONGFELLOW AND LOWELL. 

S the birthdays of Longfellow and Lowell occur- 
but five days apart, it may be thought best, in 
some grades, to combine the birthday exercises. 
Below is a suggested program. 

LONGFELLOW AND LOWELL DAY. 

Part L 

Solo : The Arrow and the Song. — Longfellow. 

Topic : The Friendship of Longfellow and Lowell. 

(a) Situations of Elmwood and Craigie House. 

(b) Intimacy between the two families, 

(c) Longfellow's influence over Lowell (like that of 

an older brother). 

Recitation : Two Angels. — Longfellow. 

Note. — This poem was written on the death of Mrs. Low- 
ell and the birth of one of Longfellow's own children 
which occurred the same night. 

Recitation : To Henry W. Longfellow on His Birthday, — 
Lowell, 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 11 » 

Part 11. 

SoxG : Friendship — Mozart. 

Topic: Sweet Home Life in the Longfellow an J Lowell 
Families. 

Recitations: (To their children) 
The Children's Hour. — Longfellow. 
Children. — Longfellow. 
The First Snowfall. (See page 115.) 
The Changeling. — Lowell. 
She Came and Went. — Lowell. 

Part HL 

Chorus : To Thee, O Countr3\ — Eichberg. 

Topics : The Patriotism of Longfellow and Lowell. 

Lowell's Influence in Public Affairs Bu:ing the 
Civil War. 

Recitations : The Ship of State. — Longfellow. 

"Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! 
Sail on, O L^nion strong and great!" 

— From "The Building of the Ship." 

The Present Crisis. — Lowell. 
Reading: The Legend Beautiful. — Longfellow. 
Reading : Yussouf. — Lowell. 
Reproduction : The Vision of Sir Launfal. — Lowell. 

Finish with the recitation "June" from the poem. (By 
the school) (See page 116.) 

LONGFELLOW. 

Feb. 2-], 1807— Mar. 24, 1S82. 

'NDOUBTEDLY Longfellow is the favorite Ameri- 
can poet among both old and young. While he 
cannot be called a children's poet, he has written 
many things for them which even the youngest can enjoy. 
It is a very easy matter to make appropriate selections 
from his poem.s for study in any grade. 

Among the Perry Pictures are the following pictures 
which help to make the poet real to the children while study- 
ing his poems. 

*The "Sister" refers to his first-born, little Blanche, who 
died in infancy. 



u 



120 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



His Birthplace. 
His Home, Portland. 
His Home, Cambridge. 
His Daughters. 

Poems Suggested for Study 
Autumn. 

The Harvest Moon, 
Woods in Winter. 
Snowflakes. 
An April Day. 



His Arm Chair. 
His Statue, Portland. 
The Wayside Inn. 
Evangeline. 

(Nature) 

Spring. 

Rain in Summer. 

A Day of Sunshine. 

Daybreak. 



-(For the Children) 

Children. The Children's Hour. 

The Castle-Builder. From My Arm-Chair 



(Stories in Verse) 
Evangeline. 
Miles Standish. 
Hiawatha. 



(For Reading) 

The Birds of Killingworth. 
The Bell of Atri. 
The Legend Beautiful. 



The Emperor's Bird's-Nest. The Old Clock on the Stair. 
The Wreck of the Hesperus. Paul Revere's Ride. 

(Other poems) 

Excelsior. The Ladder of St, Augustine. 

The Village Blacksmith. The Psalm of Life. 

The Builders. The Arrow and the Song. 

Note. — Careful selection must be made to suit the grade 
and ability of the children. 



SNOW- FLAKES. 

^^UT of the bosom of the Air, 

^^ Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, 
Over the woodlands brown and bare, 
Over the harvest fields forsaken, 
Silent, and soft, and slow 
Descends the snow. 

Even as our cloudy fancies take 

Suddenly shape in some divine expression, 
Even as the troubled heart doth make 
In the white countenance confession, 
The troubled sky reveals 
The grief it feels. 

This is the poem of the air, 

Slowly in silent syllables recorded ; 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 121 

This is the secret of despair, 

Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded, 
Now whispered and revealed 
To wood and field. 

— Longfellow. 

By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH. 

NDER a spreading chestnut-tree 

The village smithy stands; 

The smith, a mighty man is he, 

With large and sinewy hands ; 
And the muscles of his brawny arms 

Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long, 

His face is hke the tan ; 
His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns whate'er he can, 
And looks the whole world in the face, 

For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn till night. 

You can hear his bellows blow ; 
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge. 

With measured beat and slow, 
Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 

When the evening sun is low. 

And the children coming home from school 

Look in at the open door; 
They love to see the flaming forge. 

And hear the bellows roar. 
And catch the burning sparks that fly 

Like chaff from a threshing-floor. 

He goes on Sunday to the church, 

And sits among his boys ; 
He hears the parson pray and preach. 

He hears his daughter's voice. 
Singing in the village choir, _ 

And it makes his heart rejoice. 

It sounds to him like her mother's voice, 

Singing in Paradise ! 
He needs must think of her once more. 

How in the grave she lies ; 
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes 

A tear out of his eyes. 



122 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL. 

Toiling, — rejoicing, — sorrowing, 

Onward through Hfe he goes ; 
Each morning sees some task begin, 

Each evening sees it close ; 
Something attempted, something done, 

Has earned a night's repose. 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend. 

For the lesson thou hast taught ! 
Thus at the flaming forge of life 

Our fortunes must be wrought ; 
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 
Each burning deed and thought. 

— Longfellow. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 

Feb. 27, 1S07— March 25, 1882. 

J N the city of Portland, Maine, many years ago, a little 

* boy was born ; a little blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked boy 

who was to become known and loved all over the 

world for his beautiful poems. This little boy was Henry 

Wadsworth Longfellow. 

Of course no one knew how famous he would become, 
as lie was just like other little boys, fiill of life and play. He 
always wished to see everyone around him happy ; he loved 
the birds and the flowers ; he was very fond of his home ; 
he loved the sea and the sea birds ; he delighted in the 
ships, and- he would often run away and play on the long 
black wharves. 

Years after he had left his home he wrote a pretty poem 
showing that he had not forgotten it. In this poem he says : 

Often I think of the beautiful town 

That is seated by the sea ; 
Often in thought go up and down 
The pleasant streets of that dear old town, 

And my youth comes back to me. 

I can see the shadowy lines of its trees, 

And catch, in sudden gleams. 
The sheen of the far-surrounding seas. 
And islands that were the Hesperides 

Of all my boyish dreams. 

I remember the black wharves and the slips, 
And the sea-tides tossing free; 



SPECIAL DAYS- IN SCHOOL 123 

And Spanish sailors with bearded lips, 
And the beauty and mystery of the ships, 
And the magic of the sea. 

In his youth he attended Bowdoin college. In his class 
was another boy who also became a famous author. The 
boy was Nathaniel Hawthorne. All their lives they were 
close friends. Mr. Hawthorne once said to Longfellow, 
"Common things are seen to possess a rareness after you 
have held them in your hand." Commion things also had a 
beauty after Longfellow had written about them, 

Mr. Longfellow was at dififerent times a lawyer and a 
teacher, but he liked better to write poems and stories. 

While he was a teacher in the great University of Har- 
vard, he went to Cambridge to live in the house once occu- 
pied by Gen. George Washington. This house commands 
a fine view of the Charles River Meadows. Here Longfellow 
lived forty years, here his children were born, and here in 
the room once used by Washington as a reception room, the 
poet wrote most of his best poems. 

Above this room is the room in which Washington had 
slept. This was the playroom of Longfellow's children. 
There were two girls and three boys. Of the boys we know 
little, but with the girls, "Grave Alice and laughing Allegra. 
and Edith with golden hair,'' we feel somewhat acquainted. 

That Longfellow loved his children very dearly, we have 
many proofs. He has written some beautiful tributes to 
them. He says in one of these, — 

What the leaves are to the forest, 

With light and air for food, 
Ere their sweet and tender juices 

Have hardened into wood, — 

That to the world are children ; 

Through them it feels the glow 
Of a brighter and sunnier climate 

Than reaches the trunks below. 

Come to me, O ye children ! 

And whisper in my ear 
What the birds and the winds are singing. 

In your sunny atmosphere. 

Ye are better than all the ballads 

That ever were sung or said ; 
For ye are living poems. 

And all the rest are dead. 



124 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

None but a loving father could have written such words 
and we feel sure that they came from his full heart. 

The Cambridge children loved him too. They used often 
to visit him at his home and he was always glad to entertain 
them. Sometimes he would meet them coming home from 
school. They would often stop and watch the blacksmith, 
Dexter Pratt, w^orking in his shop on Brattle Street. It was 
of this man and of this shop that Longfellow wrote his 
poem, "The Village Blacksmith." 

After a time it was decided to widen Brattle Street, and 
"the spreading chestnut tree" had to be cut down. Longfel- 
low mourned for the tree as for a friend. 

When the Cambridge school children heard of this, they 
begged to be allowed to have a chair made from the wood of 
the tree that they might present it to him on his seventy-sec- 
ond birthday. 

This chair was made, and when finished it was set by the 
fireplace in his study. The poet was so much pleased with 
this token of their love for him that he wrote the following 
poem to the children. 

FROM MY ARM-CHAIR. 

>% Mia king, that I should call my own 
*- ^ This splendid ebon throne? 

Or b)' what reason or what right divine, 
Can I proclaim it mine? 

Only, perhaps, by right divine of song 

It may to me belong ; 
Only because the spreading chestnut tree 

Of old was sung by me. 

And now some fragments of its branches bare, 

Shaped as a stately chair, 
Have by my hearthstone found a home at last, 

And whisper of the past. 

I see the smithy with its fires aglow, 

The blossoms and the bees, 
And hear the children's voices shout and call, 

And the brown chestnuts fall. 

I see the smithy with his fires aglow, 

I hear the bellows blow. 
And the shrill hammers, on the anvil beat 

The iron white with heat ! 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 125 

And thus, dear children, have ye made for me 

This a day of jubilee, 
And to my more than three-score years and ten 

Brought back my youth again. 

Only your love, and your remembrance could 

Give life to this dead wood, 
And make these branches, leafless now so long. 

Blossom again in song. 

Longfellow's seventy-fifth birthday was celebrated in the 
schools all over the United States. Whittier wrote a poem 
about this celebration entitled "The Poet and the Children." 
The same year, 1882, Longfellow died, and at his funeral 
were his brother poets, Emerson, Whittier, Holmes and 
Lowell. 

"My Arm-Chair" is used bv permission of Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co. - 

THEBUILDER.S. 

IN the elder days of Art, 
Builders wrought with greatest care 
Each minute and unseen part; 
For the Gods see everywhere. 

Let us do our work as well, 

Both the unseen and the seen ; 
Make the house, where Gods may dwell, 

Beautiful, entire, and clean. 

Else our lives are incomplete, 

Standing in these walls of Time, 
Broken stairways where the feet 

Stumble as they seek to climb. 

Build to-day, then, strong and sure. 

With a firm and ample base ; 
And ascending and secure 
' Shall to-morrow find its place. 

Thus alone can we attain 

To those turrets where the eye 
Sees the world as one vast plain, 
And one boundless reach of sky. 

— Longfelloiv. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



l^fi SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



THE LADDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE 

CjAINT AUGUSTINE! well hast thou said, 
^^ That of our vices we can frame 
A ladder if we will but tread 
Beneath our feet each deed of shame! 

All common things, each day's events, 
That with the hour begin and end, 

Our pleasures and our discontents, 
Are rounds by which we may ascend. 

The low desire, the base design. 
That makes another's virtues less ; 

The revel of the ruddy wine, 
And all occasions of excess ; 

The longing for ignoble things ; 

The strife for triumph more than truth ; 
The hardening of the heart that brings 

Irreverence for the dreams of youth; 

All thoughts of ill ; all evil deeds. 

That have their root in thoughts of ill ; 

Whatever hinders or impedes 
The action of the nobler will ; — 

All these must first be trampled down 
Beneath our feet, if we would gain 

In the bright fields of fair renown 
The right of eminent domain. 

We have not wings, we cannot soar ; 

But we have feet to scale and climb 
By slow degrees, by more and more. 

The cloudy summits of our time. 

The mighty pyramids of stone 
That wedge-like cleave the desert airs, 

When nearer seen, and better known. 
Are but gigantic flights of stairs. 

The distant mountains, that uprear 

Their solid bastions to the skies. 
Are crossed by pathways that appear 

As we to higher levels rise. 

The heights by great men reached and kept 
Were not attained by sudden flight. 

Rut they, while their companions slept, 
Were toiling upward in the night. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 127 

Standing on what too long we bore 
With shoulders bent and downcast eyes, 

We may discern — unseen before — 
A path to higher destinies. 

Nor .deem the irrevocable Past, 

As wholly wasted, wholly vain, 
If, rising on its wrecks, at last 
To something nobler we attain. 

— Longfellozv. 
By permission of Houghton. IMifflin & Co. 

LONGFELLOW'S BIRTHDAY PROGRAMME. 

Part I. 
Song : Building. 

In the elder days of Art, 

Builders wrought with greatest care 

Each minute and unseen part ; 
For the Gods see everywhere. 

— Longfellow. 

Topic : Longfellow, The Children's Friend. 

(a) In his own family. 

(b) The story of the arm-chair. 

Recitations : 

The Children's Hour. From My Arm-Chair. 

The Village Blacksmith. Children. 

Part II. 

Song : Hemlock-Tree. 

Topic : Longfellow, A Lover of Nature. 

Recitations: (Poetry of the Seasons) 

The Harvest Moon. (See page 15.) An April Day. ^ 

Snow-Flakes. (See page 120.) Rain in Summer. 

Part III. 

Song : The Arrow and the Song. 

Topic : 

Longfellow's Stories in Verse. 
Tales of a Wayside Inn. 

(a) The Birds of Killingworth. 

(b) The Bell of Atri. 

Reading : 

The Legend Beautiful. Story of Evangeline. 

Story of Miles Standish. 



128 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

Recitations : From Hiawatha. 
Reading : The Emperor's Bird's-Nest. 

Part IV. 

Song : The Psalm of Life. 

Topic : Longfellow's Earnestness. 

(a) In school. (c) As a teacher. 

(b) In his profession. (d) In his literary career. 

(e) In his home life. 

Recitations : 

From Excelsior. The Ladder of St. Augustine. 

Song : The Bridge, or 

The Day is Done. 

(By some friend of the school) 

LONGFELLOW AND WHITTIER. 

T may be deemed advisable to have a Longfellow and 
Whittier Day combined, following the study of these 
two poets. Below is a suggested programme. 

PROGRAMME. 

Part I. 
LONGFELLOW. 

Song : The Arrow and the Song. 

Topic : Longfellow's Home Life. 

(a) His childhood. (b) His children, 

(c) In his family. 
Recitations : 

Children. The Children's Hour. 

Story : The Arm-Chair. 

Recitation : From My Arm-Chair. 

(By boy dressed as Longfellow, sitting in an arm-chair.) 

Song: O Hemlock-Tree. 

Recitations: (Longfellow's Nature Poems) 

The Harvest Moon. An April Day. 

Snow-Flakes. (See page 120.) Rain in Summer. 

(By four children dressed as the seasons.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 12« 

Topic: Longfellow's Stories. 

(Let children tell which of Longfellow's stories they en- 
joy most, and why.) 
Topic: Longfellow's Seventy-fifth Birthday Celebration. 
Recitation:. The Poet and the Children. — Whittier. 
Song : Building. 
Topic: Longfellow Memorials. 

(a) Statue at Portland. 

(b) Proposed Statue at Cambridge. 

Song: The Bridge, or 
The Day is Done. 

(By some friend of the school). 

Part IL 

WHITTIER. 

Song: The Corn Song. — Klein. 
Topic : The Early Life of Whittier. 

(a) In boyhood, his home, etc. 

Recitation : Barefoot Boy. (By a boy dressed to im- 
personate the barefoot boy.) 

(b) His early schooldays. 
Recitation : In School Days. 

(c) Learning a trade. 

Recitation from "The Shoemakers." (By three children. 

Recitation to finish each topic.) 
Song : Your Mission. 
Topic: Whittier's Manhood. 

(a) Education. 

(b) Love for the poems of Burns. 
(Recite selection.) 



T 



TR.IBVTE TO BURNS. 

0-DAY be every fault forgiven 

Of him in whom we joy! 
We take, with thanks, the gold of Heaven 

And leave the earth's alloy. 
Be ours his music as of spring, 

His sweetness as of flowers, 
The songs the bard himself might sing 

In holier ears than ours. 

Sweet airs of love and home, the hum 
Of household melodies, 



130 . SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Come singing as the robins come 

To sing in dooryard trees. 
And heart to heart, two nations lean, 

No rival wreaths to .twine, 
But blending in eternal green 

The holly and the pine ! 

Song : Friendship. — Mozart. 
Topic: Whittler in Later Life. 

(a) His homes. (b) His later writing, 

(c) His friends. 
'Quotations : 

To Bryant on His Birthday. 

The Singer. (To Alice Gary) 

The Poet and the Children. (To Longfellow) 

Within the Gates. (To Lydia Maria Child) 

Our Autocrat. (To Holmes) 

Garrison. (To William Lloyd Garrison) 

Topic : Whittier's Stories in Verse. 

(Children name their favorite story, relate it. or give 
reason for the choice.) 

Part HL 

THE POET PATR.IOTS. 

Song: Guard the Flag. — George M. Vickers. 

Topic : Longfellow and Whittier as Patriots. 

(a) Their patriotic poems. 

(b) Their opposition to slavery. 

Quotations : 

Our Countrymen in Chains. 

The Slave's Dream. 
Song : To His Country. — Klein. 

EMERSON. 

May 25, 1803 — Apr. 25, 1882. 



N 



O ATTEMPT should be made to have an Emerson 
Day in the intermediate grades. Emerson's writ- 
ings are beyond the understanding of children. 
However, it is well for them to know of him as an author 
and poet ; a contemporary and friend of those about whose 
works they already know something. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 131 

Let the children know him as one whom they will wish 
to study sometime ; a man so wise and good that he was 
called the "Seer of Concord." 

"My Garden," "The Mountain and the Squirrel," "The 
Humble-Bee," "The Titmouse," and "Each and All," may 
be read to them, that Emerson may become more real. 

"The Rhodora" should be memorized as an Arbor Day 
selection, or in connection with the study of the spring flow- 
ers. 

With the Independence Day celebration or the study of 
the Declaration of Independence, however, Emerson may 
come to the children pleasantly and profitably through his 
poems, "The Concord Hymn," "Boston" and "The Boston 
Hymn." 

The admirers of Emerson's essays have tried to interest 
the children in them, but without much success. Beautiful 
as are the thoughts contained in these writings, only the ma- 
ture mind can appreciate them. His Concord home and its 
historical surroundings always interest children. 

HOLMES. 

Aug. 29, 1809 — Oct. 7, 1894. 



H 



OLMES is best known to the children through his 
patriotic poems f as a patriot they become most 
interested m him, and therefore it is a good plan 
to introduce him as such, to teach his patriotic poems, and 
perhaps have a flag day in his honor. Decorate the school- 
room on this day with flags and bunting, and drape the por- 
trait of Holmes with the Stars and Stripes. 

Suggested Poems : 
(The Flag.) 
God Save the Flag. Union and Liberty. 

The Flower of Liberty. 
(Patriotic.) 

The Voyage of the Good Ship Union. 

Angel of Peace. Old Ironsides. 

Our Yankee Girls. The Wasp and the Hornet. 

Freedom, Our Queen, One Country. 

(Patriotic Stories In Verse.) 
Grandmother's Story of the Battle of Bunker Hill. 
Ballad of the Boston Tea Party. 



132 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

GOD SAVE THE FLAG! 

WASHED in the blood of the brave and the blooming, 
Snatched from the altars of insolent foes, 
Burning with star-fires, but never consuming, 
Flash its broad ribbons of lily and rose. 

Vainly the prophets of Baal would rend it, 
Vainly his worshippers pray for its fall; 

Thousands have died for it, millions defend it, 
Emblem of justice and mercy to all: 

Justice that reddens the sky with her terrors, 
Mercy that comes with her white-handed train. 

Soothing all passions, redeeming all errors, _ 
Sheathing the saber and breaking the chain. 

Borne on the deluge of old usurpations. 
Drifted our Ark o'er the desolate seas, 

Bearing the rainbow of hope to the nations, 

Torn from the storm-cloud and flung to the breeze! 

God bless the Flag and its loyal defenders. 
While its broad folds o'er the battle-field wave, 

Till the dim star- wreath rekindle its splendors, 

Washed from its stains in the blood of the brave ! 

— Holmes. 

FREEDOM. OUR QUEEN. 

LAND where the banners wave last in the sun, 
Blazoned with star-clusters, many in one, 
Floating o'er prairie and mountain and sea ; 
Hark! 'tis the voice of thy children to thee! 

Here at thine altar our vows we renew 
Still in thy cause to be loyal and true, — 

True to thy flag on the field and the wave. 
Living to honor it, dying to save ! 

Mother of heroes ! if perfidy's blight 
Fall on a star in thy garland of light, 

Sound but one bugle-blast! Lo ! at the sign 
Armies all panoplied wheel into line. 

Hope of the world ! thou hast broken its chains, — 
Wear thy bright arms while a tyrant remains, 

Stand for the right till the nations shall own 
Freedom their sovereign, with Law fcr her throne f 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 133 

Freedom ! sweet Freedom ! our voices resound, 
Queen by God's blessing, unsceptred, uncrowned! 

Freedom, sweet Freedom, our pulses repeat. 
Warm with her life-blood, as long as they beat ! 

Fold thy broad banner-stripes over her breast, — 
Crown her with star-jewels Queen of the West! 

Earth for her heritage, God for her friend, 
She shall reign over us world without end ! 

— Holmes. 

These poems are used by permission of Houghton, ]\Iifflin 
& Co. 

PROGRAMME. 

HOLMES AND THE FLAG. 

Song: God Save the Flag. (See page 132.) 

Topic : Holmes, The Patriot. 

Recitation : The Flower of Liberty. 

Song: Freedom, Our Queen. (See page 132.) 

Story: The Frigate Constitution and How Holmes Saved 

It. 
Recitation : Old Ironsides. 
Song: The Star Spangled Banner, or 

The Banner of the Free. 
Recitation : The Voyage of the Good Ship Union. 
Recitation : Our Country. 

Song: Angel of Peace. (Tune, Keller's American Hymn.) 
Angel of Peace, thou hast wandered too long ! 

Spread thy white wings to the sunshine of love ! 
Come while our voices are blended in song, — 

Fly to our ark like the storm-beaten dove, 
Fly to our ark on the wings of the dove, 

Speed o'er the far-sounding billows of song, 
Crowned with the olive-leaf garland of love ; 
Angel of Peace, thou hast waited too long! 

Recitation: Union and Liberty. (By the school.) 
Lord of the Universe! shield us and guide us, 
Trusting thee always, through shadow and sun ! 
Thou hast united us, who shall divide us? 
Keep us, O keep us, the many, in One I 

L^p with our banner bright, 

Sprinkled with starry light ; 



134 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Spread its fair emblems from mountain to shore; 
While through the sounding sky- 
Loud rings the Nation's cry, — 

Union and Liberty ! One Evermore ! 

(Raise a large flag at the line, "Up with our banner 
bright.") 

Flag Salute: (By school.) 

"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for 
which it stands : One Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and 
Justice for All." 

Note: — This program may be used on Memorial Day. 



v< ARBOR DAY ^ | 



T HE T R.EE. 

I LOVE thee when thy swelling buds appear, 
And one by one their tender leaves unfold, 
As if they knew that warmer suns were near, 
No longer sought to hide from winter's cold ; 
And when with darker growth thy leaves are seen 
To veil from view the early robin's nest, 
I love to lie beneath thy waving screen, 
With limbs by sum.mer's heat oppressed; 
And when the autumn winds' have stripped thee bare, 
And round thee lies the smooth untrodden snow, 
When naught is thine that made thee once so fair, 
I love to watch thy shadowy form below, 
And through thy leafless arms to look above 
On stars that brighter beam when most we need their 
love. — Jones Very. 

The main object of the Arbor Day celebration is to lead 
the children to love and appreciate trees ; to teach them how 
to plant and care for trees, and to understand their great 
value in the economy of Nature. 

THE ORIGIN OF ARBOR DAY. 

Arbor Day originated with J. Sterling Morton, our ex- 
United States commissioner of agriculture. In 1872 he was 
governor of Nebraska, which was then a vast treeless prai- 
rie. At a meeting of the state board of agriculture, he pro- 
posed that the loth day of April should be set apart for the 
planting of trees, and ofifered a premium for the proper plant- 
ing of the greatest number. More than one million trees 
were planted that day in Nebraska, and now more than 700,- 
000 acres are planted with trees. The first intention of 
Arbor Day tree planting was a purely economic one, but in 
itself an unselfish act — planting that others may enjoy — de- 
veloped the esthetic sentiment : "He who plants trees loves 
others besides himself." It cultivated broader views of 
things ; aroused a sentiment of patriotism, a love of the beau- 
tiful in nature, which leads "through nature up to nature's 
God." 



136 SPECIAL DATS IX SCHOOL 



Reference Books : 



Arbor Day Manual. — Skinner. 

Arbor Day Music. — C. W, Bardeen, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Parables of Nature. — Mrs. Gatty. 
Trees of Northwestern U. S. — Apgar. 
Three Little Lovers of Nature. — Ware. 
Trees of Northwestern V. S. — Newhall. 
A Year Among the Trees. — Wilson Flagg. 
Pepacton. — John Burroughs. 
Foot- Path Ways. — Bradford Torrey. 
Wild Apples. — Thoreau. 
Early Spring in Massachusetts. — Thoreau. 
The World by the Fireside. — Kirby. (T. Nelson & Son, 
New York.) 

Note. — The Forest Tree Photo-Reproduction Co., Chicago, 
111., print excellent lo x 12 pictures of typical trees. 

STOR15S : 

The Maple Leaf and the Violet. — "Story Hour." 

The Walnut Tree that Wanted to Bear Tulips. — Wiltse's 
"Morning Talks." 

The Oak Tree and the Acorn. — Wiltse's "Morning Talks." 

The Anxious Leaf. — Henry Ward Beecher. 

The Talk of the Trees Along the Village Street. — Jane 
Andrews in "Stories Mother Nature Told." 

Apple Trees in Love. — Henry Ward Beecher. 

The Last Dream of the Old Oak. — Hans Andersen. 

The Kind Old Oak. — Hans Andersen. 

Philemon and Baucis. — Cook. "Nature Myths." 

Springtime. — Eugene Field in "A Little Book of Profi- 
table Tales." 

The Little Lilac Buds. — "Cat Tails and Other Tales." 

The Story of the Forest. — "Story Hour." 

The Maple Tree's Children. — Abby Morton Diaz. 

How the Oak Tree Became King. — Bertha Hortense 
Gault. 

Poems : 

To a Pine Tree. — Lowell. 

The Oak. 

The Birch Tree. — Lowell. 

Selections from Under the Willows. — Lowell. 

Selections from The Maples. — Lowell. 

Selections from On Planting a Tree at Inverary. — Lowell. 

An April Day. — Longfellow. 

The Hemlock Tree. — Longfellow. 



SPECLIL DAYS IX SCHOOL 137 

Hiawatha's Sailing. — Longfellow. 

Hiawatha"s Canoe Building. — Longfellow. 

Spring. — Longfellow. 

Eliot's Oak. — Longfellow. 

The Palm Tree. — Whittier. 

The Trailing Arbutus. — Whittier. 

Mayflowers. — \Miittier. 

Jack in the Pulpit. — Whittier. 

Among the Trees. — Bryant. 

The Planting of the Apple Tree. — Bryant. 

The Elm Tree and the Vine. — Br^^ant. 

The Forest Hymn. — Bryant. 

March. — Bryant. 

The Gladness of Nature. — Bryant. 

Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood. — Bryant. 

April. — x\lice Cary. 

A Lesson. — Alice Cary. 

Under the Washington Elm. — Holmes. 

Spring. — Holmes. 

Spring Has Come. — Holmes. 

An AvTil Welcome. — Phoebe Cary. 

Spring Flowers. — Phoebe Cary. 

In the Woods. — Adelaide Procter. 

Sowing and Reaping. — Adelaide Procter. 

Spring. — Celia Thaxter. 

April Days. — Celia Thaxter. 

A Ballad of Trees and Their Master. — Sidney Lanier. 

Lender the Cedarcroft Chestnuts. — Sidne}' Lanier. 

The Palm and the Pine. — Sidney Lanier. 

Spring Greeting. — Sidney Lanier. 

Welcome, Spring. — Elaine Goodale. 

The First Flowers. — Elaine Goodale. 

Apple-Blossom Time. — Elaine Goodale. 

A Bit of Woods. — Dora Read Goodale. 

In the Woods. — Dora Read Goodale. 

In the Spring. — Dora Read Goodale. 

The Holly Tree. — Southy. 

Woodman, Spare that Tree. — George P. Morris. 

The Hickory Tree. — Charles H. Crandall. 

Three Trees. — Charles H. Crandall in "Wayside Music." 

The Tulip Tree. — Taylor. 

The Oak. — George Hill. 

The Rhodora. — Emerson. 

The Heart of the Tree. 

A Little Brown Seed. — Ida Burnham. 

Talking in Their Sleep. — Edith M. Thomas. 

The Tree. — Jones Very. 

Springtime. — Howells. 



33.8 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

The Tree. — Bjornstjerne Bjornson. 

The Cottonwood Tree, — B. C. Rude. 

Waiting to Grow. 

Pussy Willow. — Kate Brown in "Child Garden." 

Tree Planting. — Samuel Francis Smith. In ''Poems of 

Home and Country." 
Arbor Day. — "Youth's Companion." 
March. — Mary Mapes Dodge. 
The Beech. — Campbell. 
The Seedling. — Paul Laurence Dunbar in "Lyrics of 

Lowly Life." 
- Spring's Beacon. — Margaret Deland. 
Plant a Tree. — Lucy Larcom. 
Under the Palm Trees. — Julia C. R. Dorr. 
The Apple Tree. — Julia C. R. Dorr. 
The Two Elms. — J. T. Trowbridge. 
Arbutus Asleep. — William Whitman Bailey. 
The Frolic of the Leaves. — Henry C. Koopman. 
April. — Helen Hunt Jackson. 
An Apple Orchard in the Spring. — William Martin. 

Songs : 

The Old Mountain Tree. — James G. Clark. ("Golden 
Robin." 

The Song of the Rose. — ^James G. Clark. ("Golden Rob- 
in.") 

Swinging 'Neath the Boughs of the Old Apple Tree. — O. 
R. Barrows. (Siknner's Arbor Day Music.) (C. W. 
Bardeen) 

The Return of Spring. — "The Encore." 

The Winter Song of the Tree. — Jennie Youngs. (The 
Wyatt Company) 

The Brave Old Oak.— E. J. Loder. (Arbor Day Music) 

Now the Springtime Sun is Shining. 

O Hemlock Tree. — Longfellow. (Arbor Day Music) 

Forest Song. — Prof. W. H. Venable. 

Monarch of the Woods. — (Arbor Day Music) 

Song of the Maples. — (Arbor Day Music) 
Topics for Study and Composition: 

The Origin of Arbor Day. 

How to Plant a Tree. 

How to Care for a Tree. 

Historic Trees. 

(i) The Charter Oak. 

(2) The Washington Elm. 

(3) The Burgoyne Elm. 

(4) The Treaty Elm. (Penn's Treaty with the 
Indians.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 139 

(5) Liberty Elm. 

(6) The Gary Sycamore. 

(7) The Lowell Tree. 

(8) The Napoleon Tree. 

(9) The Tulip Tree — King's Mountain S. C. (See 
Perry Pictures.) 

Our Common Trees : 

(a) Their Motions. 

(b) Their Shapes. 

(c) Their Music. (See Wilson Flagg.) 
Strange Trees : 

(a) The Banyan. 

(b) The Palm. 

(c) The Cow Tree. 

(d) The Whistling Tree. 
Uses of Trees. 

Trees as Homes. 

HISTOR-IC TREES. 

The best known of these is the Charter Oak. Tell the 
story. Note : The vice president's chair is made from the 
wood of this tree, which was blown down in 1856, All 
New England was in mourning when its fate was known. 
On the way from Boston to Mount Auburn cemetery, 
where so many distinguished people lie buried, one passes a 
venerable elm standing near the center of the street, and 
surrounded by an iron railing. It is marked by a tablet 
which reads : 

Under This Tree 

Washington 

First Took Command 

of the 

American Army, 

July 3, 1775. 

Many sightseers visit it daily, and often the thoughtless 
ones tear off twigs and leaves as keepsakes. This keeps the 
lower branches bare most of the time. It is, nevertheless, 
honored by all. 

There is a great horse chestnut tree beside the house 
where Lowell was born, which towers about the gables. It 
is called the Lowell tree, because he planted the nut from 
which it grew, in his boyhood. 

In Copp's burying ground, Boston, there is a weeping wil- 
low which has grown from a branch taken from a tree 



140 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

which shaded the grave of Napoleon at St. Helena. It is 
called the Napoleon willow. The burying ground is very 
old, and being in the business part of the city, no new graves 
are made there now, but the ^ates are left open, and all 
day long troops of happy children play under this willow's 
shade. 

The elm under which Penn made his famous treaty with 
nineteen tribes of Indians is another famous tree of history. 

The Burgoyne Elm at Albany was planted on the day 
of Burgoyne's surrender, and the King's Mountain Tulip 
Tree, stands upon the King's Mountain battlefield, S. C. 

The Liberty Elm, Boston, marked the spot where many 
patriotic meetings were held during the colonial days. 

From its branches the people hung, in effigy, obnoxious 
persons. 

"The world shall never forget the spot where once stood 
the Liberty Tree." (Lafayette.) 

One day, when returning from school, Alice and Phoebe 
Gary found a little tree lying in the dusty road. 

They found a shady spot and planted it. The tree grew 
and thrived and is now a tall, beautiful sycamore. It is 
called the Cary Sycamore. 

In place of these short, dry descriptions, the children 
may substitute : 

The Autobiography of the Liberty Elm. 

A Visit to the Tulip Tree of King's Mountain. 

A Picnic Dinner Lender the Gary Tree. 

Thoughts While Standing Beside the Washington Elm. 

Elms of History, etc. 

THOUGHTS ABOUT TREES. 

Summer or winter, day or night. 
The woods are ever a new delight ; 
They give us peace, and they make us strong. 
Such a wonderful balm to them belong : 
So, living or dying, I'll take mine ease 
Under the trees, under the trees. 

—R. H. Stoddard. 

Pleasant it was when woods were green, 
And winds were soft and lov/, 
To lie amid some sylvan scene, 
Where, the long drooping boughs between, 
Shadows and sunlight sheen 
Alternate come and go ; 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 141 

Or when the denser grove receives 
No simHght from above, 
But the dark foliage interweaves 
In one unbroken roof of leaves, 
Underneath whose sloping eaves 
The shadows hardly move. 

— Longfellozv. (From "Prelude.") 

The groves were God's first temples. — Bryant. 

Go to the woods and hills! No tears 
Dim the sweet look that Nature wears. 

— Longfellow, 

There's a pleasure in the pathless wood. 

— Byron. 

And the trees 
Laid their dark arms about the field. 

— Holmes. 

In kindly showers the sunshine buds 
The branches of the dull grey wood. 

—Whittier. 

Naked lay in sunshine glowing 

Hills that once had stood, 

Down their sides the shadows throwing, 

Of a mighty wood. — Whittier. 

Woodland green and gay with dew 
Here, to-day, I pledge anew 
All the love I gave to you. 
Through your bushy ways I trod, 
Or, lay hushed upon your sod. 
With my silence praising God. 

— Alice Cary. (From "A Lesson.'') 

"Trees are indeed the glory, the beauty, and the de- 
light of mankind.'' 

And this our life *>!c****** 
Finds tongue in trees, books in the running brooks, 
Sermons in stones, and good in everything. 

— Shakespeare. 

FOREST SONG. 

A SONG for the beautiful trees, 
A song for the forest grand. 
The pride of His centuries. 
The garden of God's own hand. 
Hurrah for the kingly oak, 



142 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

J The maple, the forest queen, 

The lords of the emerald cloak, 
The ladies in living green. 

For the beautiful trees a song. 
The peers of a glorious realm, 
So brave, and majestic, and strong, 
The linden, the ash, and the elm. 
Hurrah for the beech tree trim, 
The hickory staunch at core. 
The locust so thorny and grim, 
And the silvery sycamore. 

So long as the rivers flow. 
So long as the mountains rise. 
And shelter the earth below, 
May the forest sing to the skies. 
Hurrah ! for the beautiful trees, 
Hurrah ! for the forest grand. 
The pride of his centuries, 
The garden of God's own hand. 

—Prof. W. H. Venahle. 

THE PLANTING OF THE APPLE-TREE. 

OME, let us plant the apple-tree. 
Cleave the tough greensward with the spade ; 
Wide let its hollow bed be made ; 
There gently lay the roots, and there 
Sift the dark mould with kindly care, 

And press it o'er them tenderly, 
As, round the sleeping infant's feet. 
We softly fold the cradle-sheet; 

So plant we the apple-tree. 

What plant we in this apple-tree? 
Buds, which the breath of summer days 
Shall lengthen into leafy sprays ; 
Boughs where the thrush, with crimson breast, 
Shall haunt and sing and hide her nest ; 

We plant, upon the sunny lea, 
A shadow for the noontide hour, 
A shelter from the summer shower. 

When we plant the apple-tree. 

What plant we in this apple-tree? 
Sweets for a hundred flowery springs 
To load the May-wind's restless wings, 
When, from the orchard-row, he pours 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 143 

Its fragrance through our open doors; 

A world of blossoms for the bee, 
Flowers for the sick girl's silent room, 
For the glad infant sprigs of bloom, 

We plant with the apple-tree. 

What plant we in this apple-tree? 
Fruits that shall swell in sunny June, 
And redden in the August noon, 
And drop, when gentle airs come by, 
That fan the blue September sky, 

While children come, with cries of glee. 
And seek them where the fragrant grass 
Betrays their bed to those who pass. 

At the foot of the apple-tree. 

And when, above this apple-tree, 
The winter stars are quivering bright. 
And winds go howling through the night. 
Girls, whose young eyes o'erflow with mirth. 
Shall peel its fruit by cottage-hearth. 

And guests in prouder homes shall see, 
Heaped with the grape of Cintra's vine 
And golden orange of the line. 

The fruit of the apple-tree. 

The fruitage of this apple-tree. 
Winds and our flag of stripe and star 
Shall bear to coasts that lie afar, 
Where men shall wonder at the view. 
And ask in what fair groves they grew ; 

And sojourners beyond the sea 
Shall think of childhood's careless day. 
And long, long hours of summer play, 

In the shade of the apple-tree. 

Each year shall give this apple-tree 
A broader flush of roseate bloom, 
A deeper maze of verdurous gloom, 
And loosen, when the frost-clouds lower. 
The crisp brown leaves in thicker shower. 

The years shall come and pass, but we 
Shall hear no longer, where we lie. 
The summer's songs, the autumn's sigh. 

In the boughs of the apple-tree. 

And time shall waste this apple-tree. 
Oh, when its aged branches throw 
Thin shadows on the ground below, 
Shall fraud and force and iron will 



144 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Oppress the weak and helpless still? 

What shall the tasks of mercy be, 
Amid the toils, the strifes, the tears 
Of those who live when length of years 
Is wasting this little apple-tree? 

"Who planted this old apple-tree?" 
The children of that distant day 
Thus to some aged man shall say ; 
And, gazing on its mossy stem. 
The gray-haired man shall answer them: 

"A poet of the land was he, 
Born in the rude but good old times ; 
'Tis said he made some quaint old rhymes. 

On planting the apple-tree." 

— William Cullen Bryant. 
By permission* of D. Appleton & Company. 

THE TREES. 

IME is never wasted listening to the trees; 
> If to heaven as grandly we arose as these. 
Holding toward each other half their kindly grace, 
Haply, we were worthier of our human place. 

Bending down to meet you on the hillside path ; 
Birch, and oak, and maple, each his welcome hath ; 
Each his own fine cadence, his familiar word. 
By the ear accustomed, always plainly heard. 

For every tree gives answer to some different mood ; 
This one helps you climbing ; that for rest is good ; 
Beckoning friends, companions, sentinels they are; 
Good to live and die with, good to greet afar. 

Dear, inspiring, friendly dwellers of the woods. 
Always reaching downward, something grand or good 
From the lofty space where you breathe and live; 
Royally unconscious, careless what you give! 

O ye glorious creatures, heirs with us of earth! 
Might we win the secret of our loftier birth, — 
From our depths of being grow like you and climb 
To our heights of blessing, — life would be sublime! 

— Lucy Larcom. 
By permission of Houghton, Mififlin & Company. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 145 

T R. E E - P L A N T I N G . 

HE who plants a tree 
Plants a hope. 

Rootlets up through fibers blindly grope; 
Leaves unfold into horizons free. 
So man's life must climb 
From the clods of time 
Unto heavens sublime. 
Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, 
What the glory of thy boughs shall be? 

He who plants a tree, 

He plants love ; 

Tents of coolness spreading out above 

Wayfarers, he may not live to see. 

Gifts that grow are best ; 

Hands that bless are blest ; 

Plant ! Life does the rest ! 

Heaven and earth help him who plants a tree, 

And his work its own reward shall be. 

— Lucy Larcom. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

THE HEART OF A TREE. 

WHAT does he plant who plants a tree? 
He plants the friend of earth and sky; 
He plants the flag of breezes free ; 
The shaft of beauty hovering high. 
He plants a ho.me to heaven a-nigh. 
For song and mother-croon of bird 
In hushed and happy twilight heard — 
The treble of heaven's harmony, — 
These things he plants who plants a tree. 

What does he plant who plants a tree? 

He plants cool shade and tender rain, 

And seed and bud of days to be, 

And years that fade and flush again ; 

He plants the glory of the plain; 

He plants the forest heritage ; 

The harvest of a coming age ; 

The joys that unborn eyes shall see, — 

Tliese things he plants, who plants a tree. 

What does he plant who plants a tree? 
He plants in sap and leaf and wood, 
In love of home and loyalty. 



146 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL. 

And forecast thought of civic good, — 
His blessing on the neighborhood ; 
Who, in the hollow of his hand 
. Holds all the growth of all the land — 
A nation's growth from sea to sea 
Stirs in his heart whO' plants a tree. 

— Selected. 



D 



AN ARBOR DAY TREE. 

EAR little tree that we plant to-day, 
What will you be when we're old and gray? 
"The savings bank of the squirrel and mouse, 
For robin and wren an apartment house, 
The dressing room of the butterfly's ball, 
The locusts' and katydids' concert hall. 
The schoolboy's ladder in pleasant June, 
The schoolgirl's tent in the July noon. 
And my leaves shall whisper them merrily, 
A tale of the children who planted me." 

— Youth's Companion. 

THE T R.EE. 

* HE Tree's early leaf-buds were bursting their brown ; 
"Shall I take them away?" said the Frost, sweeping 
down. 

"No, let them alone 
Till the blossoms have grown," 
Prayed the Tree, while it trembled from rootlet to 
crown. 

The Tree bore its blossoms and all the birds sung; 
"Shall I take them away?" said the Wind, as it 
swung. 

"No, let them alone 
Till the berries have grown," 
Said the Tree, while its leaflets, quivering, hung. 

The Tree bore its fruit in the midsummer glow : 
Said the girl, "May I gather thy sweet berries now?" 
"Yes, all thou canst see: 
Take them ; all are for thee," 
Said the Tree, while it bent down its laden boughs 
low. 

— Bjor7istje7'ne Bjornson. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 147 

S P R. I N G . 

THE alder by the river 
Shakes out her powdery curls; 
The willow buds in silver 
For little boys and girls, 

The little birds fly over, 

And oh, how sweet they sing! 
To^ tell the happy children 

That once again 'tis spring. 

The gay green grass comes creeping 

So soft beneath their feet ; 
The frogs begin to ripple 

A music clear and sweet. 

And buttercups are coming. 

And scarlet columbine, 
And in the sunny meadows 

The dandelions shine. 

And just as many daisies 

As their soft hands can hold 
The little ones may gather, 

All fair in white and gold. 

Here blows the warm red clover, 

There peeps the violet blue ; 
O happy little children ! 

God made them all for you. 

— Celia Thaxter. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

WAITING TO GROW. 

r ITTLE white snow-drops, just waking up, 
^Violet, daisy and sweet buttercup; 

Think of the flowers that are under the snow, 
Waiting to grow ! 

And think of what hosts of queer little seeds 
Of flowers and mosses, of fern and of weeds. 
Are under the leaves and under the snow 
Waiting to grow ! 

Think of the roots getting ready to sprout. 
Reaching their slender brown fingers about 
Under the ice and the leaves and the snow, 
Waiting to grow ! 



148 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Only a month or a few weeks more, 
Will they have to wait behind that door, 
Listen and watch and wait below, 
Waiting to grow ! 

Nothing so small, and hidden so well, 
That God will not find it, and presently tell 
His sun where to shine, and His rain where to go, 
Helping them grow ! 

— Selected. 

THE R.HODOR.A. 

IN May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, 
I found the fresh rhodora in the woods 
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, 
To please the desert and the sluggish brook: 
The purple petals fallen in the pool 

Made the black waters with their beauty gay, — 
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool. 

And court the flower that cheapens his array, 
Rhodora ! if the sages ask thee why 
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, 
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, 
Then beauty is its own excuse for being. 

Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose ! 
I never thought to ask ; I never knew, 
But in my simple ignorance suppose 
The selfsame Power that brought me there brought you. 

— Emerson. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifi^in & Co. 

AN APRIL WELCOME. 

^^OME up, April, through the valley, 
^^ In your robes of beauty drest, 

Come and wake your flowery children 

From their wintry beds of rest ; 
Come and overblow them softly 

With the sweet breath of the south ; 
Drop upon them, warm and loving, 
Tenderest kisses of your mouth. 

Touch them with your rosy fingers, 
Wake them with your pleasant tread, 

Push away the leaf-brown covers, 
Over all their faces spread ; 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 149 

Tell them how the sun is waiting 

Longer daily in the skies, 
Looking for the bright uplifting 

Of their softly-fringed eyes. 

Call the crow-foot and the crocus, 

Call the pale anemone, 
Call the violet and the daisy, 

Clothed with careful modesty; 
Seek the low and humble blossoms. 

Of their beauties unaware. 
Let the dandelion and fennel 

Show their shining yellow hair. 

Bid the little homely sparrows 

Chirping, in the cold and rain, 
ITieir impatient, sweet complaining. 

Sing out from their hearts again; 
Bid them set themselves to mating, 

Cooing love in softest words, 
Crowd their nests, all cold and empty, 

Full of little callow birds. 

Come up, April, through the valley, 

Where the fountain sleeps to-day, 
Let him, freed from icy fetters, 

Go rejoicing on his way; 
Through the flower-enameled meadows 

Let him run his laughing race. 
Making love to all the blossoms 

That o'erlean and kiss his face. 

But not birds and blossoms only. 

Not alone the streams complain. 
Men and maidens too are calling, 

Come up, April, come again ! 
Waiting with the sweet impatience 

Of a lover for the hours 
They shall set the tender beauty 

Of thy feet among the flowers ! 

— Phoebe Cary. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



150 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

TRIBUTES TO THE TREES. 
THE OAK. 

^UU^ HAT gnarled stretch, what depth of shade, is his ! 
" ■ There needs no crown to mark the forest's king ; 
How in his leaves outshines full summer's bliss ! 
Sun, storm, rain, dew, to him their tribute bring. 
Which he with such benignant royalty- 
Accepts, as overpayeth what is lent ; 
All nature seems his vassal proud to be, 
And cunning only for his ornament. 

—Lowell. (From "The Oak.") 

These green-robed senators of the woods. 

Tall oaks, branch-charmed by the earnest stars. 

Dream, and so dream all night without a stir. 

— Keats. 

A glorious tree is the old gray oak ; 

He has stood for a thousand years, — 

He has stood and frowned, 

On the trees around. 

Like a king among his peers. — George Hill. 

I am a monarch, the king of the trees. 
Calmly I rise and spread by slow degrees ; 
Three centuries I grow, and three I stay 
Supreme in state, and in three more decay. 

— Dry den. 

A traveler through a dusty road 

Strewed acorns on the lea ; 
And one took root and sprouted up, 

And grew into a tree. 
The dormouse loved its dangling twigs. 

The birds sweet music bore. 
It stood a glory in its place, 

A blessing evermore. — Mackay. 

THE MAPLE. 

' ■ 'HE Maple puts her corals on in May, 
* While loitering frosts about the lowlands cling, 
To be in tune with what the robins sing, 
Plastering new log-huts 'mid her branches gray; 
But when Autumn southward turns away. 
Then in her veins burns most the blood of Spring, 
And every leaf intensely blossoming, 
Makes the year's sunset pale the set of day. 

—Lozvell. (From "The Maple.") 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 151 

There's red on the maples and color to spare. 
Each bud is awake and awaiting its share. 

When April winds 

Grew soft., the maple burst into a flush 

Of scarlet flowers. — Bryant 

The streams 
Wake, laughing, from their winter dreams. 
And tremble in the April showers 
The tassels of the maple flowers. — WhitUer. 

SPRING'S BEACON. 

Through the misty woodlands bare, 

By the meadow brown and dead, 
In the damp and chilly air 

Stand the maples tipped with red ; 

They are flaming signals bright, 

Waving 'gainst the dull, cold sky, 
Heralding with ruddy light, 

That the cheerful spring is nigh. 

Crimson on the Robin's breast, 

Crimson on the glowing tree — 
Life and love alike are drest, 

Love and life have come to me ! 

— Margaret D eland. 

'Soon red will bud the maple trees. 
The bluebirds will be singing." 

'Take the birds with their songs so sweet, 
Take the grass and the rustic seat; 
Take them all, but leave to me 
This one sun-kissed maple-tree." 

And fast the maples now 

Crimson through every bough. — Celia Thaxter, 



u 



the: elm. 

PON these elm-arched soHtudes 

No hum of ndghbor toil intrudes ; 

The only hammer that I hear 

Is wielded by the woodpecker. 

The single noisy calling his, 

In all our leaf-hid Sybaris. — Lowell. 



152 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Swelled with new life, the darkening elm on high 
Prints her thick buds against the spotted sky. 

— Holmes. 
The elms have robed their slender spray 
With full blown flower and embryo leaf ; 
Wide o'er the clasping arch of day 
Soars like a cloud their hoary chief. 

— Holmes. 

"The elm in all the landscape green, 

Is fairest of God's stately trees; 
She is a gracious mannered queen, 
Full of soft bends and courtesies." 

^Selected. 
THE POPLAR. 

HERE'S a dance of leaves in that aspen bower. 

— Btyant. 

"And yellow tassels in the breeze 
Be from the poplar swinging ; 
And rosy will the May-flowers lie. 
Upon its mossy pillow." 

"The poplar trees burst into yellow leaf." 

"The poplar drops beside the way 
Its tasseled plumes of silver-gray." 

T H E P I N E . 

Beneath the forest's skirt I rest, 
■"^ Whose branching pines rise dark and high, 
And hear the breezes of the West 
Among the thread-like foliage sigh. 

—Bryant (From "The West Wind.") 

It is as if the pine-trees called me 
From the ceiled room and silent brooks, 

To see the dance of woodland shadows, 
And hear the song of April brooks ! 

—Whittier. (From 'The First Flowers/') 

I remember. I remember, 
The fir trees dark and high ; 
I used to think their slender tops 
Were close against the sky. — Hood. 

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the 

hemlocks, 
Bearded^ with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the 

twilight. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 153 

Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic, 
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bos- 
oms. — Longfellow. (From "Evangeline.") 

The South-west wind is warmly blowing 
The odors from ihe springing grass, 

The pine tree and the sassafras, 

Are with it on its errand going. — Whittier. 

THEWILLOW. 

THERE'S gold on the willows and blue in the sky, 
• And pink where the snowdrifts of arbutus lie." 

The willow, for thy grace's sake. 
Was dressed with tender spray. 

Before another week has gone, • 

Each bush, and shrub, and tree. 

Will be as full of buds and leaves 

As ever it can be. — AWce Cary. (From "April.") 

The willow buds in silver 

For little boys and girls. — Celia Thaxter. 

And sweet and slow the south-wind blows. 
And through the brown fields calling goes. 
Come Pussy ! Pussy Willow ! 
Within your close brown wrapper stir, 
Come out and show your silver fur. 
Come Pussy ! Pussy Willow ! 

The green leaves in the willows 
Laugh out their glad surprise. 

— Eh en E. Rex ford. 

By the swift river's flood 

The willow's golden blood 

Mounts to the higher spray. 

More vivid day by day. — Celia Thaxter. 

The pussy willows in their play, 

Their varnished caps have flung away, 

And hung their fur on every spray. 

— William Whitman Bailey. 

OTHER. TREES. 

HE tulip tree, high up, 

Opened in airs of Jime, her multitude 

Of golden chalices to humming birds 

And silken-wing'd insects of the sky. — Bryant. 



154 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Rippling through thy branches goes the sunshine, 

Thy foHage, like the tassels of a Dryad 
Dripping round thy slim white stem, whose shadow 
Slopes quivering down the water's dusky quiet, 
Thou shrink'st as on her bath's edge would some startled 
naiad. — Lowell. (From "The Birch.") 

On all her boughs the stately chestnut cleaves 
The gummy shroud that wraps her embryo leaves. 

— Holmes. 

A health for the hickory tree — 
Rough-coated, hale and free — 
For its flesh is white and its heart is bright, 
And it laughs with you and me. 

— Charles H. Crandall. 

The alder by the river. 
Shakes out her powdery curls. 

— Celia Thaxter 

And from the alder's crown 
Swing the long catkins brown. 

— Celia Thaxter. 

Sweet is the air with budding haws, 

And the valley stretching far below 

Is white with blossoming cherry-trees, 

As if just covered with the lightest snow. 

— Longfellow. 

Blow, winds ! and waft through all the rooms 
The snowflakes of the cherry-blooms! 

— Longfellow. (From "A Day of Sunshine.") 

•The trees their fairest foliage yield 
In apple-blossom time. — Elaine Goodale. 

O, hemlock tree ! O hemlock tree ! how faithful are thy 

branches ! 
Green, not alone in summer time, 
But in the winter's frost and rime ! 

O, hemlock tree ! O hemlock tree ! how faithful are thy 

branches ! — Longfellow. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 155 

ARBOR. DAY PROGRAMME. 

PR.IMARY GRADES. 

Recitation : Spring. — Celia Thaxter. 

Topic: Why we Celebrate Arbor Day. (By a Child). 

Song: Now the Springtime Sun is Shining. 

Recitation : In the Woods. — Adelaide Procter. 

Song: Rain and the Flowers. (Three children person- 
ate the flowers mentioned, and come in when called 
by the rain.) 

To the great brown house where the flow'rets live 

Came the rain with its tap, tap, tap! 

And whispered, "Violet, Snowdrop, Rose, 

Your pretty eyes must now unclose 

From your long, long wintry nap !" 

Said the rain with its tap, tap, tap ! 

From the doors they peeped with a timid grace, 

Just to answer the tap, tap, tap ! 

Miss Snowdrop curtesied a sweet "Good day !" 

Then all came nodding their heads so gay, 

And they said ; "We've had our nap. 

Thank you, Rain, for your tap, tap, tap !" — Selected. 

Story: The Maple Leaf and The Violet.— "Storv Hour." 
Or 
The Walnut Tree that Wanted to Bear Tulips. — "Morn- 
ing Talks." 

Reading: Springtime. — Eugene Field. (From "A Little 
Book of Profitable Tales.") 

Quotations about Familiar Trees. (By the school). 

Song: Dear Old Mother Tree. 

Story : The Cary Tree. 

Recitation: An April Welcome. — Phoebe Cary. 

Story: The Last Dream of the Old Oak. — Anderson. 

Song: The Brave Old Oak. — Loder. 

Recitation: An Apple Orchard in the Spring. — William 
Martin. 

(Around the Tree.) 

Talk about Tree Planting. (By the teacher.) 

Recitation : Tree Planting. — Lucy Larcom. Or 

Tree-Planting. — Samuel Francis Smith. Or 

An Arbor Day Tree. 



156 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

ARBOR. DAY PROGRAMME. 

INTERMEDIATE GRADES. 

Song: Arbor Day. 
Essay : Origin of Arbor Day. 
Recitation: The Tree. — Jones Very. 
Quotations: Thoughts about Trees. (School.) 
Song: The Forest Song. 

Recitation : The Planting of the Apple-Tree. — Bryant. 
(See page 142.) 

The Apple Tree.— Julia C. R. Dorr. Or 

Three Trees. — Charles H. Crandall. (The last may be 
dramatized.) 
Song : Swinging 'Neath the Boughs of the Old Apple 

Tree. — Barrows. 
Essay: Historic Elms. 

Recitation : Under the Washington Elm. — Holmes. 
Story : A Visit to King's Mowntain Battle Field, and the 

Tulip Tree. 
Song : The Old Mountain Tree. — ^J. G. Clark. 
Essay : The Uses of Trees. 

(Around the Tree. — Arbor Day march to the tree, each 

carrying a twig, branch or leaf of the kind of tree to 

be planted.) 

Address and Dedication of the Tree. 
Recitation : The Heart of a Tree. Or 

Poern appropriate for the particular tree planted. 



% '- *- V, .,» 









-/J-- 



'««»'•'**■• ■:,;:■ ,-^.'. 



The Perry Pictures. From painting by Breton, 

SONG OP THE I. ARK. 



Ng B1R.DDAYS Ng 

APRIL and May are the months best chosen for the 
study of the birds. It is at this time that they are re- 
turning to us after their long absence, and they come 
to us with a newborn interest. 

Early in April some bright conversation lessons should 
be given about the birds, that the children may tell what 
they know of the birds common to the section in which 
they .live, and also that they may gain new knowledge of 
and interest in these feathered friends. The children should 
be encouraged to keep notebooks and to record in them their 
daily observations ; this will keep them alert. A bird calen- 
dar should also be kept on the schoolroom board. 

After much interest has been awakened, and several rec- 
ords have been made, it would be well to teach the following 
selections from. "The Return of the Birds :" 

I hear, from many a little throat, 

A warble interrupted long; 
I hear the robin's' flute-like note, 

The bluebird's slenderer song. 

Brown meadows and the russet hill. 
Not yet the haunt of grazing herds. 

And thickets by the glimmering rill. 
Are all alive with birds. 

Oh choir of spring, why come so soon? 

On leafless grove and herbless lawn 
Warm he the yellow beams of moon ; 

Yet winter is not gone. 

For frost shall sheet the pools again ; 

Again the blustering East shall blow — 
Whirl a white tempest through the glen, 

And load the pines with snow. 

Stay, then, beneath our ruder sky ; 

Heed not the storm-clouds rising black, 
Nor yelling winds that with them fly; 

Nor let them fright you back,— 
^^■^^^-^^^^^^^ 

Stay, for a tint of green shall creep 
Soon o'er the orchard's grassy floor, 

And from its bed the crocus peep 
Beside the housewife's door. 



158 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Here build, and dread no harsher sound, 
To scare you from the sheltering tree, 

Than winds that stir the branches round, 
And the murmur of the bee. — Bryant. 

By special permission of D, Appleton & Co. 

As each bird comes, read or teach some of the beauti- 
ful tributes to him given us by our best poets and authors. 
Many of the poets have furnished stories in rhyme which 
may be read and reproduced. Some of these stories, however, 
are too sacred to be reproduced, and should be read impres- 
sively, and without comment. Children often understand 
more than we think they do, and our comments, in such 
cases, but mar the beauty of the selection. 

Many of the poems are real literary gems and should 
be memorized ; others are to be used simply for the infor- 
mation they contain. Among the former are the following : 

To a Waterfowl. — Bryant. 

The Song Sparrow. — Lucy Larcom. 

To a Skylark. — Shelley. 

The Bluebird. — Eben E. Rexford. 

The Sandpiper. — Celia Thaxter. 

Contrast these poems with the following, which is very 
useful in its place : 

BIRDS' NESTS. 

' I "HE skylark's nest among the grass 
* And waving corn is found ; 
The robin's on a shady bank. 
With oak leaves strewed around. 

The wren builds in an ivied thorn 

Or old and ruined wall ; 
The mossy nest, so covered in. 

You scarce can see at all. 

The martens build their nests of clay 

In rows beneath the eaves ; 
The silvery lichens, moss and hair 

The chaffinch interweaves. 

The cuckoo makes no nest at all ; 

But through the woods she strays, 
Until she finds one snug and warm. 

And there her eggs she lays. 

The sparrow has a nest of hay. 
With feathers warmly lined; 



SPECL4L DAYS IN SCHOOL 159 

The ringdove's careless nest of sticks 
On lofty trees we find. 

Rooks build together in a wood, 

Arid often disagree ; 
The owl will build inside a barn 

Or in a hollow tree. 

Birds build their nests from year to year, 

According to their kind — 
Some very neat and beautiful ; 

Some simple ones we find. 

The habits of each little bird, 

And all. its patient skill. 
Are surely taught by God himself, 

And ordered by His will. — Selected. 

The following' is a list of books which will be found very 
helpful in the study of the birds. A teacher who is, herself, 
full of the subject cannot fail to make the lessons a success. 

A Year With the Birds.— Wilson Flagg. (Educational 

Publishing Co.) 
Birds and Bees. — Burroughs. (Houghton, Miflfhn & Co.) 
Birds and Poets. — Burroughs. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) 

Co.) 
Wake Robin. — Burroughs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) 
My Saturday Bird Class.— Ohve Thorne Miller. (D. C. 

Heath & Co.) 
A Bird Lover in the West. — Olive Thorne Miller. (D. 

C. Heath & Co.) 
Birds Through an Opera Glass. — Merriam. (Houghton, 

Mifflin & Co.) 
Birds of Village and Field. — Merriam. (Houghton, Mif- 
flin & Co.) 
Citizen Bird. — Wright and Coues. (The Macmillan 

Company.) 
Short Stories of Our Shy Neighbors. — Kelly. American 

Book Company.) 
Outdoor Studies. — Needham. (American Book Company.) 
Tommy Anne. — Wright. (The Macmillan Company.) 
My Studio Window. — Gibson. (Harper & Brothers.) 
The Story of the Birds. — Basket. (D. Appleton & Co.) 
Common Things With Common Eyes. — B. Hoskin Stand- 

ish. (Minneapolis.) 
Our Common Birds and How to Know Them. — Grant. 

(Chas. Scribner's Sons.) 
The Birds About Us.— Abbott. (Lee & Shepard.) 



160 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Bird Stories : 

The Daisy and the Lark. — Hans Andersen. 

The Ugly Duckling- — Hans Andersen. 

The Bobolink. — Washington Irving. M 

The Lark in the Barley Field. — Aesop. « 

Robins. — John W. Woolman. (From "Child Life in 

Prose." Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) m 

The Bird's-Nest in the Moon. ("Child Life in Prose.") '^ 

The Birds of Killingworth. — Longfellow. 
The Bird and the Ship. — Longfellow. 
The Falcon of Sir Federigo. — Longfellow. 
The Constant Dove. — Celia Thaxter, 
The Wounded Curlew. — Celia Thaxter. 
The Sparrow. — Celia Thaxter. 
The Cockatoos. — Celia Thaxter. 
The Parrot. 
The Robin and the Violet. — Eugene Field. (From "A 

Little Book of Profitable Tales.") 
Fido's Little Friend. — Eugene Field. (From "A Little 

Book of Profitable Tales.") 
The Robin's Nest. — Phoebe Cary. 
The Story of a Blackbird. — Alice Cary. 
Parables From Nature. — Mrs. Gatty. 
Lincoln and the Birds. 

Bird Poems : 

The Return of the Birds.— Bryant. 

To a Waterfowl. — Bryant. 

The Lost Bird. — Bryant. 

Robert of Lincoln. — Bryant, 

The Nest. — Lowell. 

Phoebe. — Lowell. 

The Robin.— Whittier. 

The Emperor's Bird's-Nest. — Longfellow. 

The Legend of the Cross-Bill. — Longfellow. 

The Herons of Elmwood. — Longfellow. 

The Sandpiper. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Yellow-Bird. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Birds' Orchestra. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Great Blue Heron. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Swallow. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Robin. — Celia Thaxter. 

Perseverance. — Celia Thaxter. 

Under the Lighthouse. — Celia Thaxter. 

Robin's Rain-Song. — Celia Thaxter. 

To the First Robin. — Henry Stevenson Washburne. 

The Kingfisher. — Mary Howitt. 

Birds in Summer. — Mary Howitt. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 161 

The Bluebird. — Eberi E. Rexford. 

Sing and Look Up. — Julia H. May. (From "Songs from 

the Woods of Maine." J. H. Putnam's Sons.) 
The Bluebird. — Alexander Wilson. 
The Meadow Lark. — Hamlin Garland. 
The Bluejay. — Hamlin Garland. 
Whip- Poor-Will. — Mary Mapes Dodge. (From "Along 

the Way.") 
Phoebe. (From "Our Shy Neighbors.") 
A Bird's-Nest. — Florence Percy. 
The Song Sparrow. — Lucy Larcom. 
The Brown Thrush. — Lucy Larcom. 
Sir Robin. — Lucy Larcom. 
The Blackbird. — Alice Gary. 
What a Bird Taught. — Alice Gary. 
The Little Blacksmith. — Alice Gary. 
To a Skylark. — Shelley. 
The Green Linnet. — Wordsworth. 
The Guckoo. — Wordsworth, 
To the Skylark. — Wordsworth. 
The Bluejay. — Susan Hartley Swett. 
The Songster. — ^James Thomson. 
The Mocking-Bird. — Joseph Rodman Drake. 
The Snow-Bird. — Butterworth. 
The Chickadee. — Sidney Dayre. 

The Flight of the Birds. — Harriet MeEwen Kimball. 
"Bob White." — George Gooper. 
Winter Birds. — George Gooper. 
The Stormy Petrel. — Park Benjamin. 
The Flight of the Birds. — Harriet McEwen Kimball. 

Songs: (Primary.) 

The Boy and the Lark. — Beethoven. (Scott, Foresman 
& Go.) 

"Now tell me, mother meadow lark, 
What sorrow fills your breast? 
You chirp and cry so piteously. 
You flutter round your nest." 
The Sweet Singers. (Swiss Song.) 

"I wait for your songs of the Springtime, O birds, 
I am sure you are not far away, 
And Nature has plenty of beautiful words 
To be sung with your glad roundelays." 

April Song. (Folk Song.) 

The Oriole's Nest Song.— Eleanor Smith. (Scott, Fores- 
man & Go.) 
The Happy Bluebird. 



162 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Birdie's Song. — R. B. Addison. (American Book Com- 
pany.) 

Songs : (Intermediate.) 

To a Linnet. — Hoffmeister. 

The Skylark. (Words by James Hogg; music by Fred- 
erick Peel.) 

Bird of the wilderness, 

Blithesome and cumberless, 

Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea ! 

Emblem of happiness, 

Blest is thy dwelling place. 

Oh ! to abide in the desert with thee. 

(American Book Company.) 

The Nightingale. — Attenhofer. 

The sunrise wakes the lark to sing. 

The moon awakes the nightingale. 
Wood Birds. (Folk Song.) 

I wander through the shady wood, 

And hear the wild birds singing. 

They pipe and flute, and flute and call. 

The darling birds, both great and small. 

They fill the woods with singing. 

(Scott, Foresman & Co.) 

All the Birds Have Come Again. — Jenks and Walker. 
It is Lovely May. (From ''Songs and Games.") 

TRIBUTES TO THE BIRDS. 

Do you ne'er think what wondrous beings these? 

Do you ne'er think who made them and who taught 
The dialect they speak, where melodies 

Alone are the interpreters of thought? 
Whose household words are songs in many keys. 

Sweeter than instrument of man e'er caught ! 
Whose habitations in the tree-tops even 
Are half-way houses on the road to Heaven ! 
—Longfellozv. (From "Birds of Killingworth.") 

O happy life, to soar and sway 

Above the life of mortal led. 
Singing the merry months away 

Master, not slave of daily bread, 
And when the Autumn comes, to flee 
Wherever the sunshine beckons thee. 

—Lozvell (From "The Nest.") 



SPECIAL DATS IX SCHOOL IG'S 

Be merry, all birds, to-day, 

Be merry on earth as you never were merry before. 

— Tennyson. 

Birds, birds, ye are beautiful things. 
With your earth-treading feet 

And your cloud -cleaving wings. 

Where shall man wander. 
And where shall man dwell, 
Beautiful birds, that ye come not as well ? 

— Selected. 

Then the little Hiawatha 

Learned of every bird its language, 

Learned their names and all their secrets, 

How they built their nests in Summer, 

Where they hid themselves in Winter, 

Talked with them whene'er he met them, 

Called them "Hiawatha's Chickens." — Longfellozv. 

How pleasant the lives of the birds must be. 

Living in love in a leafy tree ! 

And away through the air what joy to go 

And look on the bright, green earth below ! 

What ioy it must be, like a living breeze, 

To flutter about 'mid the flowering trees ; 

Lightly to soar, and to see beneath 

The wastes of the blossoming purple heath. 

And the yellow furze like fields of gold, 

That gladden some fairy region old ! 

On the mountain tops, on the billowy sea. 

On the leafy stems of a forest tree, 

How pleasant the life of a bird must be ! 

— Mary Howitt. (From "Birds in Summer.") 

God sent his Singers upon earth 
With songs of gladness and of mirth. 
That they might touch the hearts of men. 
And bring them back to heaven again. 

— Longfellow. (From "The Singers.") 

The bird makes his heart glad amid the blaze of flowers ; 
Which things appear the work of mighty God. 

— Tennyson. 

THE ROBIN. 

' ■ " HE sweetest song the whole year 'round, — 
* 'Tis the first robin in the Spring. — Stedman. 

In the tall elm tree sat the robin bright 
Through the rainy April day, 



164 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

And he caroled clear with pure delight, 

In the face of the sky so gray. 
And the silver rain through the blossoms dripped, 

And fell on the robin's coat 
And his brave red breast, but he never stopped 

Piping his cheerful note. 

— Celia Thaxter. (From "The Robins.") 

Not a harbinger of spring, 
However sweetly he may sing. 
Can sing as thou singest, singest 
The old familiar song. 
As the seasons roll along, 
Robin, Robin ! 

— Henry Stevenson Washhurne. (From "To the First 
Robin.") 

Robin, Sir Robin, gay red-vested knight, 
Now you have come to us, summer's in sight. 
You never dream of the wonders you bring, — 
Visions that follow the flash of your wing; 
How all the beautiful by and by 
Round you and after you seem to fly! 
Sing on, or eat on, as pleases your mind, 
Well you have earned every morsel you find, 

— Lucy Larcom. (From "Sir Robin.") 

THE LARK. 

T J P soared the lark into the air, 
^^ A shaft of song, a winged prayer. 
As if a soul released from pain 
Were flying back to Heaven again. — Lowell. 

Teach me half the gladness 
That thy brain must know, 

Such harmonious madness 
From my lips would flow, 

The world would listen then 
As I am listening now. 

—Shelley. (From "To a Skylark.") 

I heard the lark that soared on quivering wing, 
Pour forth his strains of melody above. 

Far out of sight, and yet I hear him sing 

His ceaseless, melting song of thankfulness and love, 

— Walter J err old. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 165 

Up springs the lark, 

Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of morn, 
Ere yet the shadows fly, he mounted sings 
Amid the dawning clouds, and from his haunts 
Calls up the tuneful nations. 

— fames Thomson. (From "The Songsters.") 

Hark, hark ! the lark at Heaven's gate sings. 

— Shakespeare. 

THE BLUEBIRD. 

HE bluebird chants, from the elm's long branches, 

A hymn to welcome the budding year, 
The south wind wanders from field to forest, 

And softly whispers, "The Spring is here." 
— Bryant. (From "An Invitation to the Country.") 

April is here ! 

Listen, a bluebird is caroling near ! 

Low and sweet is the song he sings, 

As he sits in the sunshine with folded wings. 

And looks from the earth that is growing green 

To the warm blue skies that downward lean, 

As a mother does to kiss her child 

That has looked up into her face and smiled. 

— Eh en E. Rexford. (From "In April.") 

Winged lute that we call a bluebird. 

You blend in a silver strain. 
The sound of the laughing water. 

The patter of spring's sweet rain, 
The voice of the winds, the sunshine, 

And fragrance of blossoming things. 
Ah! you are an April poem, that 

God has dowered with wings. 
—Ehen E. Rexford. (From "The Bluebird.") 

THE SONG-SPARROW. 

SUNSHINE set to music! 
Hear the sparrow sing! 
In his note is freshness 

Of the newborn Spring. 
In his thrill delicious 
Summer ever flows ; 
Whiteness of the lily. 
Sweetness of the rose ! 
Lucy Larcom. (From "The Song -Sparrow.") 



166 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Already close to my summer dwelling, 
The Easter Sparrow repeats her song; 
A merry warbler, she chides the blossoms — 
The idle blossoms that sleep so long. 
— Bryant. (From "An Invitation to the Country.") 

Little bird, how canst thou thus rejoice, 

As if the world had known no sin nor curse? 

God never meant to mock us with that voice ! 
That is the key-note of the universe. 

That song of perfect trust and cheer. 

Courageous, constant, free of doubt or fear. 

—Celia Thaxter. (From "The Song Sparrow.") 

PHOEBE. 

' I 'HERE is a little brown bird on that leafy bough — 
* Do you see? Do you see? 

He is calling his mate, for I hear him just now 
Say, "Phoebe," and "Phoebe." 

He is brim-full of joy, and he sings all the day; 

But it seems strange to me 
That this glad merry-maker finds nothing to say 

But "Phoebe"— just "Phoebe." 

(From "Our Shy Neighbors.") 

Do you see that bird on the apple tree. 
As white with blossoms as it can be? 
Ask her name, and she'll sing to thee — 
She heard you and answers, "Phe-be," "Phe-be!" 

— Selected. 

THE MEADOW LARK. 

A BRAVE little bird that fears not God, 
A voice that breaks from the snow-wet clod 
With prophecy of sunny sod, 
Set thick with wind-waved goldenrod. 

From the first bare clod in the raw, cold spring. 
From the last bare clod when fall winds sting. 
The farm boy hears his brave song ring. 
And work for the time is a pleasant thing. 

— Hamlin Garland. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 167 



THE SWA LLOW. 

'he swallow twitters about the eaves; 

Blithely she sings, and sweet and clear; 
Around her climb the woodbine leaves 

Into a golden atmosphere. 

Like a living jewel she sits and sings; 

Fain would I read her riddle aright; 
Fain would I know whence her rapture springs, 

So strong in a thing so slight. 

Oh, happy creature ! what stirs thee so ? 

A spark of the gladness of God thou art, 
Why should we seek to find and to know 

The secret of thy heart. 

—Cdia Thaxter. (From "The Swallow.") 

Swallow, swallow, hither wing. 

Hither swallow, bringing spring, — Selected- 

THEOR.IOLE. 

THERE from the honeysuckle gray 
The oriole with experienced quest 
Twitches the fibrous bark away, 

The cordage of his hammock-nest, 
Cheering his labors with a note, 
Rich as the orange of his throat. 

High o'er the loud and dusty road. 
The soft gray cup in safety swings. 

To brim ere August with its load 

Of downy breasts and throbbing wings, ^ 

O'er which the friendly elm-tree heaves 
An emerald roof with sculptured eaves. 

—Lowell. (From "The Nest") 

They both were artists, gathering hair and hay, 
And built their hidden cot with twittering joy, 

Where orchards smiled with blossoms through the day, 
And brooklets sang with gladness but were coy. 

The eggs were tempting in the cherished nest, _ 
Which hung and swayed secure from bending limbs; 

When soon the birdlings came with orange breast. 

And listening morn was charmed by woodland hymns. 
— /. Hazard Hartsell (From ''Golden Orioles.") 



168 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

There is a bird that comes and sings ; 
Upon the English oak he swings, 

And tells and tosses in the breeze. 
I know his name, I know his note, 

That so with rapture takes my soul ; 
Like flame the gold beneath his throat, 

His glossy cope is black as coal. 
—W. D. Howells. (From 'The Song the Oriole Sings.") 

THE chickadee:. 

TPHE chickadee, the chickadee! 
* A chosen friend of mine is he. 

The whole day long he sings one song ; 
Though dark the sky may be; 
And better than all other birds, 
I love the chickadee. 

— Marian Douglas. 
I love the high heart of the osprey. 
The meek heart of the thrush below, 
The heart of the lark in the meadow, 
And the snowbird's heart in the snow. 

But the dearest to me, 

Chickadee ! chickadee ! 
Is that true little heart in the snow. 

— Butterworth. . (From "The Snow Birds.") 

Do you know the little chickadee 

In his brownish ashen coat, 

With a cap so black and jaunty 

And a black patch on his throat? 

Oft we call him titmouse. 

And we call him snow-bird too, 

Gayly doth he sing his song 

All the long winter through. — Selected. 

THE BLUEJAY. 

' fr¥lS eye is bright as burnished steel, 
* *• His note a quick, defiant cry ; 

Harsh as a 'hinge his grating squeal 

Sounds from the keen wind sweeping by. 

He is the true American ! he fears 
No journey and no wood or wall. 

And in the desert, toiling voyagers 
Take heart of courage from his call. 
— Hamlin Garland. (From "The Blue jay.") 



SPP^CIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 1G9 

O, Bluejay up in the maple tree, 

Shaking your throat with such bursts of glee, 

How did you happen to be so blue? 

Did you steal a bit of the lake for your crest, 

And fasten blue violets into your vest? 

Tell me, I pray you, — tell me true! 

— Susan Hartley Swett. (From "The Bluejay.") 

Note, — Among the Perry Pictures are copies of these noted 
paintings : 
The Song of the Lark. — Breton. 
Feeding the Birds. — Millet. 
The Pet Bird. — Bremen. 

THE BLUEBIRD. 

W KNOW the song that the bluebird is singing — 
* Out in the appletree where he is swinging. 

Brave little fellow ! the skies may be dreary ; 

Nothing cares he while his heart is so cheery. 

Hark ! how the music leaps out from his throat. 
Hark ! was there ever so merry a note ? 
Listen awhile and you'll hear what he's saying 
Up in the apple-tree swinging and swaying: 

Dear little blossoms down under the snow, 
You must be weary of winter, I know ; 
Hark ! while I sing you a message of cheer : 
Summer is coming, and springtime is here. 

Little white snowdrops! I pray you arise; 
Bright yellow crocus ! come, open your eyes : 
Daffodils, daffodils, say, do you hear? 
Summer is coming, and springtime is here I 

— Emily Huntington Miller. 

A BIRD'S NEST. 

Over my shaded doorway, 

Two little brown-winged birds 
Have chosen to fashion their dwelhng. 

And utter their loving words. 
All day they are going and coming 

On errands frequent and fleet, 
And warbling over and over — 

"Sweetest, sweet, sweet, O sweet I" 



170 SPECIAL- DATS IN SCHOOL 

Their necks are changeful and shining, 

Their eyes are hke Hving gems, 
And all day long they are busy, 

Gathering straws and stems, 
Lint and feathers and grasses ; 

And half forgetting to eat; 
Yet never failing to warble, 

"Sweetest, sweet, sweet, O sweet!" 

I scatter crumbs on the doorsteps, 

And fling them some flossv threads; 
They fearlessly gather my bounty, 

And turn up their graceful heads. 
And chatter, and dance, and flutter, 

And scrape with their tiny feet, 
Telling me over and over, 

'"Sweetest, sweet, sweet, O sweet!" 

What if the sky is clouded? 

What if the rain comes down? 
They are all dressed to meet it, 

In waterproof suits of brown. 
They never mope or languish 

Nor murmur at storm or heat, 
Eut say, — whatever the weather, — 

"Sweetest, sweet, sweet, O sweet!" 

Always merry and busy, — 

Dear little brown-winged birds. 
Teach me the happy magic 

Hidden in these soft words, 
Which always in shine or shadow. 

So lovingly you repeat 
Over, and over, and over, 

"Sweetest, sweet, sweet, O sweet!'' 

— Florence Percy. 

THE BLUEBIRD. 

LISTEN a moment, I pray you; what was that sound 
that I heard? 
Wind in the budding branches, the ripple of brooks, 
or a bird? 
Hear it again, above us ! and see a flutter of wings ! 
The bluebird knows it is April, and soars toward the sun 
and sings. 

Never the song of the robin could make my heart so glad; 
When I hear the bluebird singing in spring, I forget to be 
sad. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 171 

Hear it! a ripple of music! sunshine changed into song! 
It sets me thinking of summer when the days and their 
dreams are long. 

Winged lute that we call a bluebird, you blend in a silver 

strain 
The sound of the laughing water, the patter of spring's 

sweet rain. 
The voice of the winds, the sunshine, and fragrance of 

blossoming things. 
Ah ! you are an April poem, that God has dowered with 

wings ! 

— Eben Eugene Rexford. 



H 



A SONG SPARROW IN MARCH. 

OW much do the birds know, afloat in the air. 
Of our changeable, strange human life and its care? 
Who can tell what they utter, 
With carol and flutter, 
Of the joy of our hearts, or the pain hidden there? 

In the March morning twilight I turned from a bed 
Where a soul had just risen from a form lying dead: 
The dim world was ringing 
With a song sparrow's singing 
That went up and pierced the gray dawn overhead. 

It rose like an ecstasy loosed from the earth ; 
Like a rapture repeating the song of its birth ; 

In that clear burst of gladness 

Night shook -off her sadness, 
And death itself echoed the heavenly mirth. 

While her sorrowful burden the sufferer laid by. 
The little bird passed, and caught up to the sky, 
And sang to gray meadow 
And mist-wreath and shadow 
The triumph a mortal had found it to die. 

Oh, the birds cannot tell what it is that they sing! 
But to me must the song sparrow's melody bring, 
Whenever I hear it. 
The joy of a spirit 
Released into life on that dim dawn of spring. 

— Lucy Larcom. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



172 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

PROGRAMME. 

PR.IMARY GRADES. 

Song: The Sweet Singers. 

Recitation : The Birds' Orchestra. — Celia Thaxter. 
Or 
The Songsters. — James Thomson. 
Story : The Robin and the Violet. — Eugene Field. 
Recitation : Sir Robin. — Lucy Larcom. 
Tributes to the Birds: (By School. See page 162.) 
Song: The Boy and the Lark. — Beethoven. 
Talk about the Picture: "The Song of the Lark." 
— Breton. 

Subjects: 

(a) Life of the girl. 

(b) Expression of the face. 

(c) Happiness contributed by the bird. 

(d) Artist. 

Song: The Oriole's Nest Song. 

Reading: 'T Told You So." (From *'Our Shy Neighbors.") 

Recitation : What a Bird Taught. — Alice Gary. 

Recitation : Sing and Look Up. — Julia H. M^y. 

Story : Lincoln and the Birds. 

Reading: Birds' Nests. (See page 158.) 

Recitation : The Brown Thrush. — Lucy Larcom. 

Talk, About why we need birds and why we love them. 

Song : The Happy Bluebird. 

Recitation : The Bluebird. — E. Rexford. 

Or 

Birds in Summer. — Mary Howitt. (By the 
school.) 

DECORATION OF ROOM. 

Flowers. Canary Birds. 

Pictures. Drawings on Board, 

Note. — The Perry Pictures should be mounted on some 
soft, neutral-tinted bristol board, and placed in pretty groups 
about the room. The magazine, "Birds," furnishes some 
very beautiful plates. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 173 

PROGRAMME. 

INTERMEDIATE GRADES. 

Song : The Return of Spring. 

Recitation : The Return of the Birds. — Bryant. 

Story : The Birds of Killingworth. — Longfellow. 

Reading : From "A Year with the Birds." — Wilson Flagg. 

Recitation : To a Skylark. — Shelley. 

Song : The Skylark. — James Hogg. 

Story: Daily Bread. (From "Parables from Nature.") 

Tributes to the Birds. (By the school. See page 162.) 

Reading: From Burroughs. 

Song: Wood Birds. (Folk Song.) 

Recitation : The Song Sparrow. — Lucy Larcom. 

Recitation : The Green Linnet. 

Hail to thee above the rest 
In joy of voice and pinion! 
Thou linnet ! in thy green array. 
Presiding spirit here to-day, 
Dost lead the revels of the May; 
And this is thy dominion. 

A life, a presence like the air 

Scattering thy gladness .without care, 

Too blest with any one to pair, 

Thyself thine own enjoyment. — Wordsworth. 

Song: The Nightingale. — Attenhofer. 

Recitation: To a Waterfowl. — Bryant. (By the school.) 

Whither, midst falling dew, 
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, 
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue 

Thy solitary way? 

Vainly the fowler's eye 
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, 
As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, 

Th" figure floats along. 

Seek'st thou the plashy brink 
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide. 
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink 

On the chafed ocean-side? 



174 , SPECIAI. DAYS IN SCHOOL 

There is a Power whose care 
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast — 
The desert and illimitable air — 

Lone wandering, but not lost. 

All day thy wings have fanned, 
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, 
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land. 

Though the dark night is near. 

And soon that toil shall end ; 
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest. 
And scream among thy fellows : reeds shall bend, 

Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. 

Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven 
Hath swallowed up thy form ; yet, on my heart 
Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given. 

And shall not soon depart. 

He who, from zone to zone, 
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, 
In the long way that I must tread alone, 
, Will lead my steps aright. 

Note. — This poem is published by special permission of 
Messrs. D. Appleton & Company, publishers of the poetical 
works and prose works of William Cullen Bryant. 

Should It be deemed best to have a Humane Day, the fol- 
lowing programme may be found suggestive: 
Song : The Chickadee. 
Or 
The Boy and the Lark. — Beethoven. 

Story : The Birds of Killingworth. — Longfellow. 
Or 
The Bell of Atri. — Longfellow. 

Quotations. (By the school.) 
Reading: The Wounded Curlew. — Celia Thaxter. 
Reading: Little Bell. — Thomas Westwood. 
*Song : Come, Boys of Noble Spirit, Come ! — Foxwell. 
Story : The Emperor's Bird's-Nest. — Longfellow. 
Story : The White-Footed Deer. — Bryant. 
Recitation : The Brown Thrush. — Celia Thaxter. 
Or 
Little Gustave. — ^^Celia Thaxter. 

* Published by the American Book Co. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 175 

Story: A Lesson of Mercy. — Alice Cary. 

*Song: In The Woods is Peace. 

Recitation : He Made and Loveth All. — Coleridge. 

Appropriate Quotations ; 

The heart is hard in nature and unfit 

For human fellowship, as being void 

Of sympathy, and therefore, dead alike 

To love and friendship both that is not pleased 

With sight of animals enjoying life 

Nor feels their happiness augment his own. 

— Cowper. 

I would not place upon my list of friends, — 
Though gifted with rare learning and fine sense 
Yet wanting sensibility, — the man 
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. — Cowper. 

He prayeth best, who loveth best 
All things both great and small ; 

For the dear God who loveth us 
He made and loveth all. — Coleridge. 

Among the noblest in the land. 

Though he may count himself the least, 

That man I honor and revere 

Who, without favor, without fear. 

In the great city dares to stand 
The friend of every friendless beast.- 

— Longfellow. 

Tis best to pray. 

But praying best succeeds, 

When seconded by manly deeds, — Saxe. 

Of all music, that which reaches farthest into heaven, 
is the beating of a loving heart. — Henry Ward Beecher. 

"Nay," Solomon replied, . . 

■'The wise and strong should seek 

The welfare of the weak," 
And turned his horse aside. 

His train with quick alarm, 

Curved with their leader round 
The ant-hill's peopled mound, 

And left it free from harm. 
— Whittier. (From "King Solomon and the Ants.") 

* Published by Scott, Foresman & Co. 



176 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Choose then, O youth, both bright and brave ! 

Wilt be a monarch or a slave? 

Ah ! scorn to take one step below 

The path where truth and honor go ! 

On manhood's threshold stand, a king 

Demanding all that life can bring 

Of lofty thought, of purpose high, 

Of beauty and nobility. 

Once master of yourself, no fate, 

Can make your rich world desolate, 

And all men shall look up to see 

The glory of your victory. — Celia Thaxter. 

Pictures: 

Plowing. — Bonheur. 
Cows in Pasture. — Dupre. 
Shepherdess and Sheep. — Millet. 
Shepherdess and Sheep. — La Rolle. 
The Lion of Lucerne. — Thorwaldsen. 

(Perry Pictures Co.) 



MEMORIAL DAY 



FROM ''The First Memorial Day Proclamation:" 
We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. 
All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the na- 
tion can add to their adornment and security is but a 
fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no 
wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let 
pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visit- 
ors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism or avarice or ne- 
glect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the com- 
ing generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of 
a free and undivided republic. If other eyes grown dull, and 
other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, 
ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of 
life remain in us. 

Let us, then, gather around their sacred remains, and 
garland the passionless mounds above with the choicest flow- 
ers of springtime ; let us raise above them the dear old flag 
they saved from dishonor. Let us, in this solemn presence, 
renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they left 
among us as a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, — the 
soldiers' and sailors' widows and orphans. — John A. Logan, 
G.- A. R. Commander, May 5th, 1868. 

In the North, May 30th is celebrated as Memorial Day; 
but in the South, where the season is more advanced, it is us- 
ually celebrated in April. 

Year after year this beautiful custom has been followed, 
and this j^ear we shall decorate also the graves of the soldiers 
and sailors who died in the Spanish-American war. 

If but one special day during the year can be celebrated, 
it should always be Memorial Day. 

Every day at school should be opened by singing some 
patriotic song, or by repeating some striking patriotic poem. 
The children should know the history of our flag and the 
origin and story of our patriotic songs. We must inspire the 
children with a loyal ^nd enthusiastic patriotism. They must 
have a genuine love and reverence for the flag as a symbol of 
all that it represents. 

For a week or two before Memorial Day the children 
should march in and out of school to some of our old and 
best loved war songs that make good marches, as : 

Dixie Land. 

Just Before the Battle, Mother. 

Battle Crv of Freedom. 



178 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

While We were Marching through Georgia. 

If this course is followed during the year, when Memorial 
Day comes the making of a programme will be a very easy 
matter. 

The following list of books, selections, songs and poems 
may be found useful. 

References and Prose Selections : 

A Man Without a Country. — E. E. Hale, 

Patriotic Citizenship. (American Book Company.) 

Four Great Americans. — James Baldwin, Ph. D. 

(Werner Book Company.) 
Four American Patriots. — Alma Holman Burton. 

(Werner Book Company.) 
Liberty and Union. — Fellows. 

Four Naval Heroes. (The Midland Pubhshing Co.) 
The Young American. (Maynard, Merrill Co.) 
The Words of Lincoln. — O. T. Oldroyd. (Washington, 

D. C.) 
Our Country's Flag.— Edward S. Holden, LL.D. (D. 

Appleton & Co.) 
Two Little Confederates. — Thomas Nelson Page. 
Patriotic Selections. — Burdette. 
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 
The Story of Sir Philip Sidney. (From "A Book of 

Golden Deeds.") 
The Influence of American Liberty. — Daniel Webster. 
Liberty and Union. — Daniel Webster. 
What Is Patriotism? — Fisher Ames. 
American Battle Flags. — Carl Schurz. 
A Tribute to Our Honored Dead. — Henry Ward 

Beecher. 
Tribute to Lincoln. — Emilio Castelar. 
Eulogy on America. — Charles Phillips. 
True Fame. — John Jay. 
The Union of the States. — Randolph. 
The Honors of a Nation. — W. R. Prince. 
Decoration Day. — Sarah Orne Jewett. (From "A Na- 
tive of Windby.") 
What Is Patriotism? — Sidney Smith. 
The National Flag. — Charles Sumner. 
Homage We Owe the Fallen. — Schuyler Colfax. 
The American Flag. — Henry Ward Beecher. 
Duty of the American Scholar. — George W. Curtis. 
The Stars and Stripes. — Anon. 
Foes United in Death. — Abbott. 
The Southern Soldier.; — Henry W. Grady. 
The Love of Flowers. — Henry Ward Beecher. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 179 

Freedom and Patriotism. — Orville Dewey. 

Patriotism. — Thomas F. Meagher. 

The National Banner. — Edward Everett. 

What America Has Done for the World. — G. C. Ver- 

planck. 
Heroes and Martyrs. — Edwin H. Chapin. 
Note. — Many of these selections are to be found in our 
best school readers and books of selections for reading. 

Memorial Day Poems : 

Decoration Day. — Longfellow. 

The Nameless Grave. — Longfellow. 

Soldier, Rest. — Scott. 

Flowers for Memorial Day. — Margaret Sangster. 

Decoration Day. — Helen Hunt Jackson. 

Flowers for the Brave. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Blue and the Gray. — Francis M. Finch. 

The Graves of the Patriots. — Percival. 

Cover Them Over. — W. M. Carleton. 

The Army of the Dead. — W. M. Carleton. 

How Sleep the Brave. — William Collins. 

The Bivouac of the Dead. — O'Hara. 

Sleep, Soldier, Sleep. — W. G. Park. 

Palmetto and Pine. — Manley H. Pike. 

Decoration Day. — Thomas W. Higginson. 

The Bovs Across the River. — Lloyd G. Thompson. 

Somebody's Darling. — Marie Lacoste. 

Memorial Day. — Charles H. Crandall. 

Spring After the War. — Phoebe Gary. 

Memorial Day. — T. C. Harbaugh. 

Decoration of the Soldiers' Graves. — Henry Timrod. 

The Soldier's Reprieve. 

Selections from "The Elegy." — Gray. 

The New Memorial Day. — Albert Bigelow Paine. 

For One of the Killed.— W. D. Howells. 

Other Appropriate Poems : 
Selections from — 

The Battlefield.— Bryant. 

The Peace Autumn. — Whittier. 

The Commemoration Ode. — Lowell. 

The Present Crisis. — Lowell. 

Driving Home the Cows. — Kate P. Osgood. 

Wounded.— W. E. Miller. 

The Burial of Sir John Moore. — Wolfe. 

The Young Soldier. — Alice Gary. 

The Hero of Fort Wagner. — Phoebe Gary. 

Forget Me Not. — Epes Sargent. - - 



180 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

Drafted. — Anon. 

Song of the Camp. — Bayard Taylor. 

The Children of the Battle Field. — James G. Clark, 

After the Fight. 

The Little Drummer Boy. — R. H. Stoddard. 

The Picket Guard. — E. L. Beers. 

The Picket Guard. — Mrs. Rowland. 

Roll Call.— N. G. Shepherd. 

Jackson. — Harry Nash. 

Dirsre for the Soldier. — George H. Baker. (In memory 

of General Philip Kearny.) 
Forgive and Forget. — Charles Swain. 
Keeping the Bridge. — Macaulay. 
American Independence. — A. B. Street. 
The Battle field. — Mrs. Hemans. 
The Soldier's Dream. — Campbell. 
The Coast Guard. — Emily H. Miller. 
In Memory of the Soldiers and Marines. — Curtiss May. 

(From "Youth's Companion," May, 1899.) 
Custer's Last Night. — Frederick Whittaker. 
Monterey. — Charles F. Hoffman. 
The Absent Boy. — Margaret Sangster. 
False Peace and True. — Richard Burton. 
The Conquered Flag. — Father Ryan. 

(The Spanish- American War.) 
One Beneath Old Glory. (From "Poems of American 

Patriotism.") 
A Song of the Fleet. — Clinton Scollard. 
War Hymn. — Bulah R. Stevens. 
The Heroic Dead. — George D. Emery; 
Under the Stars and Stripes. — Madison Cawein. 
To Admiral George Dewey. — Virginia Vaughn. 

Note . — Many of the poems here referred to are to be 
found in "Poems of American Patriotism/' published by L. 
C. Page and Company, Boston. 

Patriotic Poems, Flag Poems : 

Union and Liberty. — Holmes. 

Freedom, Our Queen. — Holmes. 

God Save the Flag. — Holmes. 

My Native Land. — Scott. 

Warren's Address to His Soldiers. — Pierpont. 

Saving the Colors. — Boyle. 

My Country. (From "Hesperion.") 

The American Flag. — Drake. 

Old Glory. — Harriet Prescott Spofford. 

Our Flag. — Hewett. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 181 

The Patriot Spy. — Francis M. Finch. 

On the Shores of Tennessee. — N. P. Beers. 

The Star of Cokimbia.— N. P. Beers. (To the G. A. 
R.) 

The Stars and Stripes. — James T. Fields. 

National Anthem. — William Ross Wallace. 

The Ship of State. — Longfellow. (From "The Build- 
ing of the Ship.") 

The Bugle Song. — Tennyson. 

Our Whole Country. — Anon. 

The Battle Flag at Shenandoah. — Joaquin Miller. 

Stand by the Flag. — ^Joseph Holt. 

America. — John E. McCann. 

Flag Songs : 

Guard the Flag. — George M. Vickers. 

Rally Around the Flag. 

The Stars and Stripes. 

Star Spangled Banner. — Francis Scott Key. 

Columbia, Gem of the Ocean. — Shaw. 

There Are Many Flags. — Howliston. 

Flag Song. — Eleanor Smith. (Scott, Foresman & Co.) 

On the Shores of Tennessee. — N. P. Beers. 

The Banner of the Free. — Brinley Richards. 

Three Little Sisters. — W. W. Gilchrist. 

Our Starry Banner. — Ofifenbach. 

Our Flag is There. 

Patriotic Songs : 

Hail, Columbia. — Joseph Hopkinson. 

America. — Samuel Francis Smith. 

To Thee, O Country. — Eichberg. 

Land of Greatness. — A. J. Foxwell. (Scott, . Fores- 
man & Co.) 

Battle Flymn of the Republic. — Julia Ward Howe. 

God, Ever Glorious. — Samuel Francis Smith. 

The New "Hail, Columbia." "Tabasco March."— G. 
W. Chadwick. 

My Own Country. 

My Native Land.— Wohlfahrt. 

Keller's American Hymn. (Oliver Ditson Co.) 

Home, Sweet Home. — John Howard Payne. 

Angel of Peace. — O. W. Holmes. 

Hail to the Land. — Gounod. 

Songs of War: 

The Battle Cry of Freedom. 
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. 



182 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Do They Think of Me at Home? 

The Soldier's Farewell to Home. 

Maryland, My Maryland. 

Tenting To-night. (Oliver Ditson Co.) 

Just Before the Battle, Mother. 

We've Drunk from the Same Canteen. — J. G. Clarke. 

Dixie Land. 

Way Down Upon the Suwanee River. 

The Vacant Chair. 

Bugle Song. — Tennyson. (Scott. Foresman & Co.) 

Our Boys Are Coming Home. — -T. Martin Town. 

When This Cruel War is Over. — Henry Tucker. 

Decoration Day Songs : 

Cover Them Over. — Will Carleton. 
Somebody's Darling. — Lacoste. 
Bring the Flowers. 
Bring Forth the Flowers. 
Tell Them, Lovely Flowers. 

Flowers For the Brave. — E. W. Chapman. (Scott, 
Foresman & Co.) 



MEMORIAL DAY SELECTIONS. 

My Country ! May she ever be right ; but, right or wrong, 
my country. — Webster. 

They never fail who die 

In a great cause. The block may soak their gore; 

Their heads may sodden in the sun ; their limbs 

Be strung to cit}'- gates and castle walls : 

But still their spirit walks abroad. Though years 

Elapse, and others share as dark a doom. 

They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts 

Which overpower all others, and conduct 

The world at last to Freedom. — Byron, 

Breathes there the man with soul so dead. 
Who never to himself hath said, 
This is my own, my native land? 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, 
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd. 
From wandering on a foreign strand ? 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his na.me, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, — 
Despite these titles, power and pelf. 
The wretch, concentred all in self, 
Living shall forfeit fair renown. 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust, from w^hence he sprung. 
Unwept, unhonor'd and unsung. 
— Sir Walter Scott. (From "The Lay of the Last 
Minstrel.'') 

O Beautiful ! My Country ! Ours once more ! 

Smoothing thy gold of war-dishevelled hair 
O'er such sweet brows as never other wore. 

And letting thy set lips, 

Freed from wrath's pale eclipse, 
The rosy edges of their smile lay bare. 

What words divine of lover or of poet 

Could tell our love and make thee know it. 
Among the nations bright beyond compare? 

What were our lives without thee? 

What all our lives to save thee? 

We reck not what we give thee ; 

We will not dare to doubt thee : 
But ask whatever else, and we will dare ! 

— Lowell. (From "The Commemoration Ode.") 



184 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Shine, Star of our Nation! the Herald of Day, 
To Liberty, Justice and Right lead the way. 
Gk)d guard the Republic, when skies are all bright, 
In darkness and gloom, be -thou ever its light. 
May our banner of freedom, in glory unfurled. 
Be the Guide, and the Hope, and the Joy of the world, 
That the star of Columbia in splendor may shine, 
And the voices of nations in anthems combine. 
— A^. P. Beers. (From "The Star of Columbia.") 

North and South, we meet as brothers ; 

East and West, we are wedded as one ; 
Rights of each shall secure our mother's, 

Child of each is her faithful son ! 
We give thee heart and hand, 
Our glorious native land, 

For battle has tried thee, and time endears ; 
We will write thy story. 
And keep thy glory, 

As pure as of old, for a thousand years ! 

— Bayard Taylor. (From " Songs of 1776.") 

God of peace, whose spirit fills 
All the echoes of our hills. 
All the murmurs of our rills. 

Now the storm is o'er — 
Oh, let freedom be our sons, 
And let future Washingtons 
Rise to lead their valiant ones 

Till there's war no more. — Pierpont. 

THE OLD AND THE NEW SOUTH. 

THE old South rested everything on slavery and agri- 
culture, unconscious that these could neither give 
nor maintain healthy growth. The new South pre- 
sents a perfect democracy, the oligarchs leading in the pop- 
ular movement, — a social system, compact and closely knit- 
ted, less splendid on the surface, but stronger at the core, 
a hundred farms for every plantation ; fifty homes for every 
palace, and a diversified industry that meets the complex 
needs of this complex age. 

The new South is enamored of her work. Her soul is 
stirred with the breath of a new life. The light of a grander 
day is falling fair upon her face. She is thrilling with the 
consciousness of growing power and prosperity. As she 
stands full statured and equal among the peoples of the 
earth, breathing the keen air and looking out upon the ex- 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 185 

panding horizon, she understands that her emancipation came 
hecause, in the inscrutable wisdom of God, her honest pur- 
pose was crossed and her brave armies were beaten. 

— Henry W. Grady. 

No civilized nation, from the republic? of antiquity down 
to our days, ever thought it wise or patriotic to preserve 
in conspicuous and durable form the mementos of victories 
won over fellow citizens in civil war. Why not? Because 
every citizen should feel himself with all others as the child 
of a common country, and not as a defeated foe. All civil- 
ized governments of our day have instinctively followed the 
same dictate of wisdom and patriotism. 

Should the son of South Carolina, when in some future 
day defending the Republic against some foreign foe, be 
reminded, by an inscription on the colors flying over him, 
that under this flag the gun was fired that killed his father 
at Gettysburg? 

Let the colors of the army, under which the sons of all 
the States are to meet and mingle in common patriotism, 
speak of nothing but union, — not a union of conquerors and 
conquered, but a union which is mother of all, equally ten- 
der to all, knowing of nothing but equality, peace, and love 
among her children. — Thoughts of CJiarUs Sumner. 

(From "American Battle Flags.") 

We may adorn with loving tributes the resting place of 
our beloved dead ; the flowers which are strewn may symbol- 
ize the living fragrance of their memory ; but we shall honor 
them the most by having their example teach us to love our 
country more, to value its dearly purchased institutions more, 
to prize its manifold blessings more, and to advance its great- 
ness and true glory more. — Schuyler Colfax. 

Let our children know the names and deeds of the men 
who preserved the Union ; let piety and patriotism sweetly 
unite in forming the character of our children, that we may 
have a race of loyal and noble Americans to carry forward 
the triumphs of liberty after those who won it have gone to 
their reward. — Robert S. MacArthur. 

Remember that we are one countr}'- now. Do not bring 
tip your children in hostility to the government of the United 
States. Bring them up to be Americans. — Robert E. Lee. 

(To his soldiers.) 

We join ourselves to no party that does not carry the flag, 
and keep step to the music of the Union. — Rufus Choate. ■ 

Oh, tell me not that they are dead, — that generous host, 
that airy army of invisible heroes. They hover as a cloud 



186 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

of witnesses above this nation. Are they dead that yet speak, 
louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? 
Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move 
upon society, and inspire the people with nobler motives 
and more heroic patriotism? 

— Henry Ward Beecher. 
(From "A Tribute to Our Honored Dead.") 

They sleep in their manhood, the true and the brave, 
And Liberty guardeth each patriot's grave ; 
Some in the sunlight, and some in the shade. 
Some 'neath the vine . in the wren-haunted glade, 
Some in a nook nearly hidden from sight, 
Others far up on the lone mountain height ; 
Though scattered they be, the Blue and the Gray, 
The love of the Nation will find them to-day. 

—T. C. Harhaugh. (From "Memorial Day.") 

Beautiful is the death sleep 

Of those who bravely fight, 
In their country's holy quarrel. 

And perish for the right. — Bryant. 

Evermore that turf lie lightly. 

And, with future showers, 
O'er thy slumbers fresh and brightly 

Blow the summer flowers. — Whittier. 

Ah ! never shall the land forget 

How gushed the life-blood of her brave — 

Gushed, warm with hope and courage yet. 
Upon the soil they fought to save. 

—Bryant. (From "The Battle-Field.") 

Fast asleep the boys are lying, in their low and narrow tents, 
And no battle cry can wake them, and no orders call them 

hence ; 
And the yearnings of the mother, and the anguish of the 

wife. 
Cannot, with their magic presence, call the soldiers back to 

life. —Will M. Carleton. 

(From "The Army of the Dead.") 

Scatter your flowers alike to-day 
Over the graves of the Blue and the Gray. 
Time has healed all the Nation's scars. 
Peace has hushed all the noise of wars; 
And North and South, and East and West. 
There beats but one heart in the Nation's breast. 

— Selected. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 187 

You are sweetly asleep where the low grasses creep, 

And the ferns in their beauty unfold, 
Where the long silence thrills through the misty blue hills, 

In their glory of purple and gold. 

O soldiers in blue, you were loyal and true, 

You were brave in the conflict with wrong; 
We will praise you with cheers, we will mourn you with 
tears. 
And crown you with story and song. 

— Angelina JV. Wray. 

Breathe balmy airs, ye fragrant flowers, 

O'er every silent sleeper's head ; 
Ye crystal dews and summer showers, 

Dress in fresh green each lowly bed. 

Strew loving ofiferings o'er the brave. 
Their country's joy, their country's pride; 

For us their precious lives they gave. 
For Freedom's sacred cause they died. 

Long, where on glory's fields they fell. 
May Freedom's spotless banner wave. 

And fragrant tributes grateful tell 
Where live the free, where sleep the brave. 

— Samuel F. Smith. 

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep ! 

The thoughts of men shall be 
As sentinels to keep 

Your rest from danger free. 

Your silent tents of green 

We deck with fragrant Rowers ; 

Yours has the suffering been, 

The m.emory shall be ours. — Longfellow. 
(From "Decoration Day.") 

"Rest in your grassy beds, 
While bloom a nation spreads 

On each appears ; 
We, too, will love our land, 
And serve with loyal hand 

In all the years." 

How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blessed ! 
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold. 
Returns to deck their hallowed moid. 



ISS SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than fancy's feet have ever trod. 
— William Collins. (From "How Sleep the Brave!") 

TO LINCOLN. 

Let childhood drop the wreaths of May, 
Fair women place choice funeral flowers 

Above his grandly coffined clay : 
The palm is his, the cross is ours. 

— W. H. C. Hosmer. 

On Fame's eternal camping ground 

Their silent tents are spread, 
And Glory guards with silent round 

The bivouac of the dead. 
—O'Hara. (From "The Bivouac of the Dead.") 

Sleep on, brave hearts, and take your rest, 

A hundred million, strong and free. 
Shall guard in each heroic breast 

Your pure and priceless legacy. 
'Twas not in vain, O noble band, 

Your blood imbued Columbia's sod. 
United now her children stand, — 

One flag, one country and one God. 
— George D. Emery. (From "The Heroic Dead.") 



B 



THE BLUE AND THE GRAY. 

Y the flow of the inland river, 

Whence the fleets of iron have fled, 
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, 

Asleep are the ranks of the dead ; 
Under the sod and the dew. 

Waiting the judgment day — 
Under the one the blue ; 

Under the other the gray. 

These in the roblngs of glory, 

Those in the gloom of defeat. 
All, with the battle-blood gory. 

In the dusk of eternity meet; 
Under the sod and the dew. 

Waiting the judgment day — 
Under the laurel the blue ; 

Under the willow the gray. 

From the silence of sorrowful hours 
The desolate mourners go, 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 1«9 

Lovingly laden with flowers 

Alike for the friend and the foe; 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day — 
Under the roses the blue ; 

Under the lilies the gray. 

So with an equal splendor 

The morning sun-rays fall, 
With a touch impartially tender, 

On the blossoms blooming for all; 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day — 
'Broidered with gold the blue ; 

Mellowed with gold the gray. 

So when the summer calleth. 

On forest and field of grain 
With an equal murmur falleth 

The cooling drip of the rain ; 
Under the sod and the dew. 

Waiting the judgment day — 
Wet with the rain the blue; 

Wet with the rain the gray. 

Sadly, but not with upbraiding, 

The generous deed was done ; 
In the storm of the years that are fading 

No braver battle was won ; 
Under the sod and the dew. 

Waiting the judgment day — 
Under the blossoms the blue ; 

Under the garlands the gray. 

No more shall the war cry sever 

Or the winding rivers be red ; 
They banish our anger forever 

When they laurel the graves of our dead! 
Under the sod and the dew, 

W^aiting the judgment day — 
Love and tears for the blue. 

Tears and love for the gray. — F. M. Finch. 

A KNOT OF BLVE AND GR.AY. 

You ask me why, upon my breast, 

Unchanged from day to day. 
Linked side by side in this broad band, 

I wear the blue and gray. 



190 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

I had two brothers long ago, — 

Two brothers, bHthe and gay; 
One wore a suit of Northern blue, 

And one a suit of Southern gray. 
One heard the roll-call of the South, 

And linked his fate with Lee; 
The other bore the Stars and Stripes, 

With Sherman to the sea. 

Each fought for what he deemed was right. 

And fell with sword in hand ; 
One sleeps amid Virginia's hills, 

And one by Georgia's strand. 
But the same sun shines on both their graves, 

'Mid valley and o'er hill, 
And in the darkest of the hours 

My brothers do live still. 
And 'this is why, upon my breast, 

Unchanged from day to day, 
. Linked side by side in this broad band, 

I wear a knot of blue and gray. — Selected. 

THE PALMETTO AND THE PINE. 

THERE grows a fair palmetto in the sunny Southern 
lands ; 
Upon the stern New England hills a sombre pine- 
tree stands : 
And each towers like a monument above the perished brave; 
A grave 'neath the palmetto — beneath the pine a grave. 

The Carolina widow comes this bright May day to spread 
Magnolia and jessamine above her soldier dead. 
And the Northern mother violets strews upon her son be- 
low, ^ — 
Her only son, who fell so many weary years ago. 

Tears for the gallant Yankee boy — one of Grant's heroes 

he ; 
Tears for the stah'yQrt Southern man — the man who marched 

with Lee ; 
But love, and only love, between the lonely ones who twine 
Their wreaths 'neath the palmetto — their chaplets 'neath the 

pine. 

Oh, tried tree of the Southland! from out whose trunks 

were wrought 
The ramparts of that glorious fort where Sergeant Jasper 

fought ; 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 191 

Oh, true tree of the Northland ! whose pictured form sup- 
plied 

The emblem of our earliest flag, that waved when Warren 
died — 

Still watch the dead you've watched so long, the dead who 

died so well; 
And matrons, mourn, as mourn you must, your lost dear 

ones who fell ; 
But joy and peace and hope to all, now North and South 

combine 
In one grand whole, as one soil bears the palmetto and 
the pine ! — Manley H. Pike. 

PROGRAMME, 

PR.IMAR.Y GR.ADES. 

THE best programme for the little folks is the field day 
preceding Memorial Day. If the children can them- 
selves really gather their own Memorial Day floral 
offering, the impression is sure to be a lasting one. If this 
is not possible, a very simple programme should be made. 
The room should be well decorated with flags, flowers 
and pictures. The portrait of Lincoln should occupy a con- 
spicuous place in the room. 

An appropriate programme is here given : 
Song : Flowers for the Brave. (By six children, each 
holding a bouquet.) 

"Once again the flowers we gather, 
On these sacred mounds to lay; 
O'er the tombs of fallen heroes 

Float the stars and stripes to-day. 
From the mountain, hill and valley 

Issued forth a noble throng, 
With heroic valor fighting 
Till was heard the victor's song." 
Recitation : Decoration Day. — Longfellow. 
Recitation: Sleep, Soldier, Sleep. 
Sleep, soldier, sleep, 
Thy work is o'er, 
No more the bugle calls "To Arms !" 
Dream on beneath thy tents of green ; 
Sleep, soldier, sleep, free from all alarms. 

Rest, soldier, rest! 
While we to-dav 



la2 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Bring fragrant flowers with reverent tread 
To deck the graves of those we love, 
A tribute to our honored dead. 

— William G. Park. 
Song: Tell Them, Lovely Flowers. (While singing this 
song, the children may march. The Vine or Wreath 
marches are pretty, simple and appropriate.) 
Recitation : The Daisy's Mission. 

"I am going to blossom," a daisy said, 

"Though the weather is cold and bleak." 
"What for?" said a neighbor, lifting her head, 
"It's too early yet, by a week." 

Said the daisy, "A voice is whispering speed, 
So T am wanted somewhere, I know." 
"Well, I'm too wise such voices to heed. 
How silly you are to go!" 

Memorial Day dawned cool and bright. 

The sun his warm rays gave. 
And there gleamed a star of purest white 

On a lonely soldier's grave. — Selected. 

Memorial Day Quotations. (By the school.) (See 

page 183.) 
Song: (Tune, "Sweet and Low.") 

"Sweet and low, sweet and low, 
Now let our music be, 
Low, low, soft and slow. 

Soft as the murmuring sea. 

After the battle and toil of life, 

The heroes who conquered in the strife 

Low in their graves now lie ; 

And we reverence them, 

And we honor them all. 

"Sweet and low, sweet and low, 

O'er their graves we sing. 
Go. go, gently go. 

Scatter the flowers we bring. 
Scatter them on each hallowed grave, 
Thus we remem.ber our fallen brave, — 
Remember them all with love, 
While we sing of them, 
While we honor them all." 

Quotations. (By school.) (See page 183.) 
Recitation: My Country. (From "Hesperion.") (By the 
school.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 193 

(First Stanza.) 

' I love my country's pine-clad hills, 
Her thousand bright and gushing rills, 

Her sunshine and her storms ; 
Her rough and rugged hills that rear 
Their hoary heads high in the air, 

In wild, fantastic forms. 

Song : Guard the Flag. — George M. VIckers. 
Flag Salute: 

I give my head and my heart to God, and my country : 

one country, one language, one flag. — Balcli. 

(Motions) : 

"Head" — Right hand to head. 
"Heart"— Right hand to heart. 
"Flag" — Right hand pointing to flag. 



194 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT, 

PR.IMARY GRADES. 

PART I. 

Our Flag. . 

Chorus: Flag Song. (See page 195.) 

Some flags are red, or white, or • green, 

And some are yellow, too, 
But the dear old flag that we love best 

Is red and white and blue. 
Then hail to the flag, to the bonny flag 

Of red and white and blue! — Eleanor Smith. 
(Sung by children, holding flags of different countries. 
One in front holding the Stars and Stripes. Flag 
salute by school at close of song.) 
Trio: I Know Three Little Sisters. 

(By three little girls, dressed as Red, White and Blue.) 
Chorus: Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom. 

(By boys marching. The Circle or. Snail-shell march 
around one child, holding a large flag, makes a pretty 
scene.) 
Flag Drill: (By eight children.) 

Carry Flags. 8. Recover. 

Forward, March. 9. Courage. 

Take Aim. 10. Forward, March. 

Fire. H- Defence. 

Retreat. 12. Suspense. 

Cowardice. I3- Hope. 

Surrender. 14- Victory. 

15. Peace and Thanksgiving. 



PART II. 

Meaiorial Day. 

Chorus: My Native Land. 
Duet: The Vacant Chair. 
Sox\tg: The Meadow is a Battle-field. 

Reading: Tribute to Our Honored Dead. — H. W. Beecher, 
Song : Bring Forth the Flowers. 
Or 
Flowers for the Brave. — E. W. Chapman. 
Music: Our Flag Colors. (See next page.) 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



195 



OUR FLAG COLORS. 



E. L. McCoRD 



W. W. Gilchrist. 



^^*^E 



:^ 



■0 — tf — — 0- 



I — I — I — ^ 

H-p— (9- 



^ # 



'-\' 



'^m=-i^ 



1. I know three lit - tie sis - ters, I think you know them 

2. I know three lit - tie les - sons, These lit-tle sis-ters 



-1= 



±:^z-l-zf::I\z=\■=^=t 



2 — #' 



-0 — — — 0- 



too, For one is red and one is white, And the 
tell, The first is Love, then Pu - ri - ty. And 




^ — I — fr*-— t— -I 






:^=:?^=:z 



■ ~® — • — w — ^ — r '^ ^1 ^ ^ :^~ 



— I — 
-^ — 



oth-er one is blue. Hurrah! for these three little 
Truth we love so well. 



-ff-» 1- 



(9- 






— h^ — ^ ^ 

1 1 5 






sis-ters, Hurrah! for the red, white and blue. 







-N— r 



i« — =1 



- — m S7 1 m = 1 m s 1 



Hurrah! Hurrah! Hur-rah! Hurrah! Hur- 



— -— t-— -1^- 



--©— 



rah for the red, white and blue 

By permission Thos. Charles Co. 195 Wabash Ave., Chicago. 



196 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



Lydia a. Conley. 



FLAG SONG. 



Eleanor Smith. 




= — L * J 



1. Some flags are red, or white or green, And 

2. We love our na - tive coun - try's flag; To 



-tt-^ — ^ — « — ^- H — -j- 



3-= 2: 



y 



some are yel - low too; But the dear, dear flag that 
it our hearts are true; A - bove us wave in 




we love best Is red, and white and b'ue. Then 
splen-did folds, The red, and white and blue. Then 




i^zzn^zznj— z^ipqzizz:— :=r=:3:i 

.1 L€_^_^___^_L^__]J 



hail the flag, the bon-ny flag, of red, and white and blue. 
By permission of Scott, Foresman & Co, 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 



197 



HURRAH FOR THE FLAG. 



M. H, HowLisTON. 





There are ma - ny flags in ma-ny lands, There are 

I know where the prettiestcol-ors are, And I'm 

I would cut a piece from an evening sky. Where the 

Then I'd want a part of fleec-y cloud, And some 

We shall al - ways love the stars and stripes. And we 






-x/=-^- 



-- V 



flags of ev - 'ry hue; But there is no flag, how- 
sure if I on - ly knew How to get them here, I could 
stars were shin-ing thro' And use it just as 

red from a rain-bow bright: And put them to - geth-er 
mean to be ev - er true To this land of ours, and the 




ev - er grand, Like our own "Red, White and Blue." 
make a flag. Of glorious "Red, White and Blue." 
was on high, For my stars and my field of Blue. 
sid by side, For my stripes of Red and Whhe. 
dear old flag, The "Red. the White and Blue." 



'— ^ 



-ft- 



=S=f=± 



^ — y 



-H 



:izd 



Thenhur-rah for the flag! Our country's flag. Its 




stripes and white stars 



too; 




a - ny land, Like our own "Red, White and Blue." 



198 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

PR.OGR.AMME. 

GOLDEN DEEDS OF PATRIOTISM, 

Song: The Battle Cry of Freedom. 

Recitation : The Battle Flag at Shenandoah. — Joaquin Mil- 
ler. Or 
Saving the Colors. — Boyle. 
Reading : From 'Two Little Confederates." — Ella Reeve 

Ware. 
Recitation: The Hero of Fort Wagner.— Phoebe Cary. 
^ong: On the Shores of Tennessee.— N. P. Beers. (May 

be dramatized.) 
Recitation: The Little Drummer Boy.— R. H. Stoddard. 
Story. (Of the Southern women of Atlanta, Ga., and the 

Northern women at Arlington Heights, decorating alike 

the graves of both friend and foe.) 
Recitation: The Blue and the Gray.— F. M. Finch. (See 

page i88.) 
Reading: The First Decoration Day Proclamation.— John 

A. Logan. (See page 177.) 
Song: Cover Them Over.— Will M. Carleton. 
Reading: The Southern Soldier.— Henry W. Grady. 
Essay: The Work of Henry W. Grady. 
Reading: The New South.— Henry W. Grady. (See page 

184.) 
Song: The New "Hail, Columbia."— G. W. Chadwick. 
Recitation: Hobson and His Men. (From "Poems of 

American Patriotism.") 
Recitation : To Admiral George Dewev.— Virginia Vaughn 
Or 
A Song of the Fleet. — Clinton Scollard. 
Song: Angel of Peace.— O. W. Holmes. 
Recitation : The New Memorial Day. — Albert Bigelow 

Paine. 

Or 
The Heroic Dead. — George D. Emery. 
Quotations by School. (See page 183.) 
Recitation: Under the Stars and Stripes.— Madison Ca- 

wein. 

Or 
Beneath the Flag 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 199 

(Beneath the Flag.) 
On the sunny hillside sleeping, 

On the calm and placid plain, 
By the rivers swiftly sweeping. 

By the rudely roaring main, 
Lie the men who saved the nation 

In the dark hour long ago. 
Meeting death, wnth proud elation, 

From a brave but erring foe. 

In their earthly sleep unending. 

Do the nation's martyred sons 
Hear the war shouts hoarsely blending 

With the booming of the guns? 
Do they quicken at the rattle 

As the mighty band sweeps by? 
Do they see that still in battle 

Heroes rise, to do or die? 

Let us hope then warriors knighted 

In the bright hereafter know 
That our nation, firm, united. 

Faces now a common foe ; 
That beneath the dear Old Glory, 

Clearing Freedom's splendid way, 
Adding luster to its story. 

Side by side march Blue and Gray. 

— (From "Cleveland Plain-Dealer.") 

Song: America. — Samuel Francis Smith. 

If the school is especially talented in a musical line, it 
may be well, for variety, to have a concert, as suggested be- 
low. 

MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT. 

Chorus : The Banner of the Free. — Brinley Richards. 
Solo and Chorus : The Star Spangled Banner, — Francis 

Scott Key. 
Duet : The Vacant Chair. 
Chorus : To Thee, O Country. — Eichberg. 
Duet : On the Shores of Tennessee. — N. P. Beers. (Man 

and master.) 
Instrumental : The Stars and Stripes Forever. 
Solo : Home, Sweet Home. — John Howard Payne. 
Chorus : The Battle Hymn of the Republic. — Julia Ward 

Howe. 



200 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Solo : Somebody's Darling. — Marie Lacoste. 
Instrumental : Nearer. My God, To Thee. (Variation.) 
Duet: We've Drunk From the Same Canteen. (Two 

boys, wearing uniforms, one carrying canteen.) 
Chorus : Angel of Peace. — O. W. Holmes. 
Song by School : America. — S. F. Smith. 

PROGRAMME. 

INTERMEDIATE GRADES. 

PART I. 

ENLISTING. 

By boys dressed in uniform, carrying guns, knapsacks, 
etc. 
Recitation. (From "The Present Crisis,'' — Lowell, 
Or 
"Our Country's Call." — Bryant.) 
SoNG : The Soldier's Farewell to Home. 

PART n. 

IN CAMP BEFORE ACTION. 

Song: Do They Think Of Me At Home? 
Recitation: Song of the Camp. — Bayard Taylor. 
Song : Just Before the Battle, Mother. 
Recitation : The Soldier's Dream. — Campbell. 

PART HI. 

ON the battlefield. 

Song : The Bugle Call. — Tennyson. 
Recitation : God Save the Flag. — Holmes. 
Song : Our Flag Is There. 

PART IV. 

in camp and hospital after action. 

Recitation : Roll Call. — N. G. Shepherd. 

Song: Somebody's Darling. — Lacoste. (By girls dressed as 

hospital nurses.) 
Recitation : Slain. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 201 

PART V. 

PEACE. 

Song : The Vacant Chair. 

Recitation. (From "The Peace Autumn." — Whittier.) 
Recitation : Driving Home the Cows. — K. P. Osgood. 
Song : Home, Sweet Home. — John Howard Payne. 

PART VI. . 

decoration day. 

Essay : The Origin of the Day. 

Recitation : The Blue and the Gray. — F. M. Finch. (See 
page i88.) 

Reading: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. (See page 63.) 
Song : Cover Them Over. — Will Carleton. 

(By chorus of girls with bouquets and wreaths.) 

PART VH. 

in after years. 

Recitation: (From "The Battlefield." — Bryant.) 

Song : We've Drunk From the Same Canteen. — J. W. 

Clark. (By two boys dressed as veterans.) 
Recitation : The Star of Columbia. — N. P. Beers. (To the 

G. A. R.) 

Recitation : The Boys Across the River. — L. G. Thomp- 
son. 

Song : America. — S. F. Smith. 

PROGRAMME. 

HIGHER. INTERMEDIATE OR. GRAM 
MAR. GRADES. 

MILITARY SCENES. 

PART I. 

FAREWELL. 

PART H. 

BEFORE THE BATTLE. 



202 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



PART III. 



ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 



(a) 
(b) 
(c) 



(a) 
(b) 



Picket. 

Spy. 

Bugler. 



In prison. 
In hospital 



(d) 
(e) 
(f) 



PART IV. 

AFTER THE BATTLE. 



(c) 
(d) 



Ensign. 
Charging. 
The Battle. 



Death 
Home. 



PART V. 

A soldier's BURIAL. 

PART VI. 

TRIBUTES TO OUR SOLDIERS. 

PART I. 

Song: My Country, 'Tis Of Thee. 
Recitation : 

1. Drafted. — Anon. 

2. Auf Wiedersehen. — Lowell. 

3. My Native Land, Adieu.— Byron. 

4. Farewell to a Departing Volunteer. 

5. Farewell. — Charles Kingsley. 
Song: My Ain Countrie. (Duet.) 
Recitation : 

6. Farevv^ell. — Celia Thaxter. 

7. Forget-Me-Not.— Epes Sargent. 

8. My Native Land.— Walter Scott 

Song: The Battle Cry of Freedom. 

PART IL 
Solo: Do They Think of Me At Home? 
Recitation : 

I. Warriors Address to His Soldiers. — Wolfe. 
Songs^ of the Camp. — Bayard- Taylor. 



2. 

3. 

Song 

4- 



The Pride of Battery. — Cassaway. 

Tenting To-night. 
Oft in the Stilly Night.— Thomas Moore. 



SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 205 

PART III. 

Song: Just Before the Battle, Mother. 
Recitation : 

1. The Picket Guard, — E. L. Beers. 

2. The Bugle Song. — Tennyson. 

3. The Ensign Bearer. — Anon. 

4. Saving the Colors. — Sir Thomas Boyle. 
Chorus : Our Flag is There. 

5. The Patriot Spy. — F. M. Finch. 

6. The Charge of the Light Brigade. — Tennyson. 

7. The Bavonet Charge. — Nathan Uner. 

8. Arnold Winklereid. — Montgomery. 
Song : Rally 'Round the Flag. 

9. The Fight By the Ford. — Thomas English. 

10. The Battle Flag at Shenandoah. — J. Miller. 

11. The American Flag. — Drake. 

12. Hohenlinden. — Campbell. 
Song : The Star Spangled Banner. 

PART IV. 

Song : In the Prison Cell I Sit. 
Recitation : 

1. After the Battle. — Anon. 

2. In a Hospital. — Mrs. Browning. (From "Aurora 
Leigh.") 

3. The Old Surgeon's Story. — E. E. Donnelly. 

4. Home, Wounded. — Sidney Dobell. 

5. Somebody's Darling. — Marie Lacoste. 
Chorus: Break the News to Mother Gently, 

6. A Georgia Volunteer. — Xarifa, 

7. (From "An Elegy in a Country Churchyard. "-Gray.) 

8. Stonewall Jackson's Grave. — N. Preston. 

9. One in Blue, One in Gray. — William Ward. 
10. Driving Home the Cows. — Kate P. Osgood. 

Song : Home, Sweet Home. 

PART V. 

Recitation : 

1. The Burial of Sir John Moore.— Wolfe. 

2. The Bivouac of the Dead. — O'Hara. 

3. Dirge for the Soldier. — George H. Baker. 

4. How Sleep the Brave. — William Collins. 



204 SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 

Duet : Nearer, My God, To Thee. 

5. Soldier, Rest. — Scott. 

6. The Nation's Dead. 

7. Speech at the Dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery. — 

Abraham Lincoln. (See page 63.) 

PART VI. 

Song : Land of Greatness. 
Recitation : 

1. The Honored Dead. — H. W. Beecher. 

2. Our Whole Country. — Anon. 

3. Union and Liberty. — Holmes. 

4. Decoration Day. — Longfellow. 

Song : To Thee, O Country. 

Note. — It is not expected that the teacher will use all of 
the numbers' on this programme. They are given that se- 
lections may be made. 

The above programme is used by permission of Matilda 
E. Holtz of the Washington School, Minneapolis. 




• J^jnivt. ft* 









s 

3 
)-> 

.9 

p, 

S W 
o O 

^ !?; 

• Q 

B 
Oh 

Q 

M 

o 
o 

l-H 
< 

o 

w 

Q 

w 

H 
O 

o 

W 

m 

M 
M 
D 
f^ 
U 

0^ 

!>< 
K 
a 

H 

a 



INDEPENDENCE DAY | 



T^HE United States is the only country with a known 
* birthday. All the rest began, they know not when, and 
grew into power, they know not how. 

— James G. Blaine. 
The Independence Day exercises should follow the care- 
ful study of the Declaration of Independence, one of the 
stepping-stones by which our country rose to a higher life, 
and one of the events leading up to it. 
Among the Perry Pictures are the following : 

Signing the Declaration of Independence. — Trumbull. 

Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 

Independence Bell. 

Old South Church, Boston. 

Old North Church, Boston. 

Faneuil Hall, Boston. 

Concord Bridge and iMinute Men. 

The Battle of Lexington. 

The Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Paul Revere's Ride. 

The following is a list of helpful books and selections : 
Biographies : 

Eggleston's First Book of American History. (Ameri- 
can Book Company.) 

Montgomery's Beginner's x\merican History. (Ginn & 
Company. ) 

Mowry's Primary American History. 

Stories of American Histor}-. — Wright. (Chas. Scribner's 
Sons.) 

Stories of American Progress. — Wright. (Chas. Scrib- 
ner's Sons.) 

Stories of American Histor}-. — Dodge. (Lee & Shepard.) 

Poor Bovs Who Became Famous. — Sarah K. Bolton. (T. 
^ Y. Crowell & Co.) 

Life of General Lafayette. — P. C. Headlev. (Lee & Shep- 
ard.) 

Four (jreat Americans, — James Baldwin, Ph. D. (Wer- 
ner Book Company.) 

Four American Patriots. — Alma Holman Burton. (Wer- 
ner Book Compan^^) 

Lafayette. The Friend of American Liberty. — Alma Hol- 
man Burton. (Werner Book Compan3\) 

Grandfather's Chair. — Washington Irving. 

Stories of Massachusetts. — Hale. 



206 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

The Story of Our Republic. — Guerber. (American Book 
Company. ) 
Boys of '76. — Coffin. 
Old Times in the Colonies. — Coffin. 

Selections: 

The American Revolution. — Jared Sparks. 

American Affairs. ^1775) — Lord Chatham. 

American Affairs. (1777) — Lord Chatham. 

Taxation and Representation Inseparable. — Lord Chat- 
ham. 

American Affairs. — Edmund Burke. 

Enterprise of the American Colonies. — Edmund Burke. 
~ American Affairs. — Lord Cavendish. 

Principles of the American Revolution. — ^Josiali Quincy. 

Address to the Citizens of Boston. — Josiah Quincy. 

Speech of John Adams In Favor of the Declaration of 
Independence. — Webster. 

The American Colonies Defended. — Edward Everett. 

The American Revolution and Its Effects. — Burgess. 

Address to the British Colonies. (1767) — John Dickin- 
son. 

The Minute Men of '76. — Georee William Curtis. 

Washington's Genius. — E. P. Whipple. 

American History. — Verplanck. 

The Influence of American Liberty. — Webster. 

National Rights of the Colonies as Men. — Samuel Adams. 

The Responsibility of Our Country. — Madison. 

The Voices of the Dead. — Orville Dewey. 

Duties of American Citizens. — Wayland. 

The American Colonists. — D. H. Montgomery. 

Speech on American Independence. — Richard Henry Lee. 

Note . — Many of the selections may be found in our best 
school readers and in books for reading and recitation, 
as : "Reading and Recitations " — Austin B. Fletcher, A. 
M., LL. B. (Lee & Shepard.) "Academic Speaker," — 
B. D. Emerson. 

Poems : 

The Concord Hymn. — Emerson. 

Boston. — Emerson. 

The Boston Hymn. — Emerson. 

Ode. — Emerson. 

Paul Revere's Ride. — Longfellow. 

Lexington, 1775. — Whittier. 

Lexington. — Holmes. 

The Battle of Lexington. — Sidney Lanier. 

A Ballad of the Boston Tea-Party. — Holmes. 



SPECIAL DATS IX SCHOOL 207 

Grandmother's Story of the Battle of Bunker Hill.— 
Holmes. 

The Revolutionary Uprising. — T. B. Read. 

Song of Marion's Men. — Bryant. 

The Ride of Jennie M'Neal.— AVill Carleton. 

Warren's Address To His Soldiers. — Pierpont. 

Spirit of Freedom. — Percival. 

American Independence. — A. B. Street. 

Centennial of American Independence. — Lowell. 

The Church of the Revolution. — Butterworth. 

The Nation's Defenders. — Butterworth. 

Nathan Hale. — Francis M. Finch. 

Independence Bell. 
Note. — Many of these poems are to be found in "Poems of 

American Patriotism," by R. L. Paget (L. C. Page & Co.) 

"American War Ballads," by Eggleston (G. P. Putnam's 

Sons) ; and "Songs of History," by Butterworth (New 

England Publishing Compan}^) 

The children of the schools may furnish the Fourth of 
July entertainment by reproducing the living pictures of the 
Declaration of Independence, with an appropriate program. 

An entertainment of this kind was given by a Minnesota 
school not long ago. The room in which the Declaration of 
Independence was signed was faithfully reproduced, and the 
boys impersonating the signers were dressed in colonial cos- 
tume. 

When the curtain was drawn, they appeared in the exact 
pose of Trumbull's figures in his noted picture of the De- 
claration of Independence. During the exercises which fol- 
lowed, they were seated. 

Many of them took part in the exercises, each, in the role 
of the character which he impersonated, coming forward 
as the address or quotation was given. Thus appeared John 
Hancock, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel 
Adams, John Adams and others. George Washington, Pat- 
rick Henry, James Otis, Josiah Quincy and some of our 
noble English champions also appeared and took active part. 

The girls helped in the music and recitations, dressed as 
Martha Washington and her friends. 

Sometimes scenes dramatized by children are made ridic- 
ulous ; but in this case it seemed rather to make the audience 
feel that we are, indeed, children of our noble forefathers, 
living again each year in their struggles and triumphs. It 
left among the children a feeling of gratitude to these men, 
and a strong desire to become loyal Americans. 

Note. — This entertainment may be given, charging an ad- 
mission :^e, and the proceeds be used in starting a school lib- 
rary or fi buying pictures for the schoolrooms. 



208 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 



WARREN'S ADDRESS TO HIS SOLDIERS. 



S 



TAND ! the ground's your own, my braves ! 
Will ye give it up to slaves? 
Will ye look for greener graves? 

Hope ye mercy still? 
What's the mercy despots feel? 
Hear it in that battle-peal ! 
Read it on yon bristling steel ! 

Ask it, — ye who will. 

Fear ye foes who kill for hire? 
Will ye to your homes retire? 
Look behind you ! — they're afire ! 

And, before you, see 
Who have done it? From the vale 
On they come! — and will ye qup^l? 
Leaden rain and iron hail 

Let their welcome be! 

In the God of battles trust ! 
Die we may. — and die we must : 
But, O, where can dust to dust 

Be consigned so well, 
As where heaven its dews shall shed 
On the .martyred patriot's bed, 
And the rocks shall raise their head. 

Of his deeds to tell? 

— Pierpont. 

INDEPENDENCE BELL. JULY 4th. 1776. 

" i "HERE was a tumult in the city, 
^ In the quaint old Quaker town 

And the streets were rife with people 

Pacing restless up and down ; 
People gathering at the corners, 

Where they whispered each to each, 
And the sweat stood on their temples. 
With the earnestness of speech. 

As the bleak Atlantic currents 

Lash the wild Newfoundland shore. 
So they beat against the State House, 

So they surged against the door ; 
And the mingling of their voices 

Made a harmony profound. 
Till the quiet street of chestnuts , 

Was all turbulent with sound.' 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 209 

"Will they do it?" "Dare they do it?" 

-Who is speaking?" "What"? the news?" 
"What of Adams?" "What of Sherman?" 

"Oh, God grant they won't refuse!" 
"Make some way there!" "Let me nearer;" 

"I am stifling!" "Stifle then; 
When a nation's life's at hazard 

We've no time to think of men!" 

So they beat against the portal— - 

Men and women, maid and child; . 
And the July sun in heaven 

On the scene looked down and smiled; 
The same sun that saw the Spartan 

Shed his patriot blood in vain, 
Now beheld the soul of freedom 

All unconquered rise again. 

Aloft in that high steeple 

Sat the bell-man old and gray; 
He was weary of the tyrant, 

And his iron-sceptered sway ; 
So he sat with one hand ready 

On the clapper of the bell, 
When his eye should catch the signal, 

Very happy news to tell. 

See! See! the dense crowd quivers 

Through all its lengthy line, . 
As the boy beside the portal 

Looks forth to give the sign! 
With his small hands upward lifted. 

Breezes dallying with his hair. 
Hark! with deep clear intonations. 

Breaks his young voice on the air. 

Hushed the people's swelling murmur. 

List the boy's strong joyous cry! 
"Ring!" he shouts, "Ring! Grandpa! 

Ring! Oh, ring for Liberty!" 
And straightway, at the signal. 

The old bell-man lifts his hand, 
And sends the good news making . 

Iron music through the land. 

How they shouted! What rejoicing! 

How the old bell shook the air, 
Till the clang of freedom ruffled 

The calm-gliding Delaware! 



210 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

How the bonfire and the torches, 
Illumed the night's repose, 

And from the flames like Phoenix 
Fair Liberty arose. 

That old bell now is silent, 

And hushed its iron tongue. 
But the spirit it awakened 

Still lives, — forever young. 
And while we greet the sunlight 

On the Fourth of each July, 
We'll ne'er forget the bell-man, 

Who, 'twixt the earth and sky. 
Rang out our Independence ! 

Which, please God, shall never die. 



N 



NEW ENGLAND'S DEAD. 

EW England's Dead ! New England's dead ! 

On every hill they lie ; 

On every field of strife made red 

By bloody victory. 
Each valley, where the battle poured 

Its red and awful tide. 
Beheld the brave New England sword 

With slaughter deeply dyed. 
Their bones are on the northern hill. 

And on the southern plain, 
By brook and river, lake and rill 

And by the roaring main. 

The land is holy where they fought. 

And holy where they fell ; 
For by their blood that land was bought. 

The land they loved so well. 
Then glory to that valiant band, 

The honored saviors of the land! 
Oh ! few and weak their numbers were, — 

A handful of brave men ; 
But to their God they gave their prayer. 

And rushed to battle then. 
And God of battles heard their cry. 

And sent to them the victory. 

They left the ploughshare in the mould. 

Their flocks and herds without a fold. 
The sickle in the unshorn grain 

The corn, half garnered, on the plain ; 



SPECIAL DAYS IX SCHOOL 211 

And mustered in their simple dress, 
For wrongs to seek a stern redress ; 

To right those wrongs, come weal, come woe ; 
To perish or o'ercome their foe. 

And where are ye, O fearless men? 

And where are ye to-day? 
I call : the hills reply again 

That ye have passed away ; 
That on old Bunker's lonely height, 

In Trenton and in Monmouth ground, 
The grass grows green, the harvest bright, 

Above each soldier's mound.' 

The Bugle's wild and warlike blast 

Shall muster them no more ; 
An army now might thunder past. 

And they not heed its roar. 
The starry flag, 'neath which they fought 

In many a bloody day. 
From their old graves shall rouse them not, 

For they have passed away. 

— Isaac McLellan, Jr. 

CONCORD HYMN. 

Y the rude bridge that arched the flood, 

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, 
Here once the embattled farmers stood, 

And fired the shot heard round the world. 

The foe long since In silence slept ; 

Alike the conqueror silent sleeps ; 
And Time, the ruined bridge has swept 

Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. 

On the green bank, by this soft stream. 

We set to-day a votive stone : 
That memory may their deed redeem. 

When like our sires, our sons are gone. 

Spirit that made these heroes dare 

To die and leave their children free, 
Bid Time and Nature gently spare 
The shaft we raise to them and thee. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

By permission of Houghton,MIffiin & Co. 



212 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

THE NATIONAL FLAG. 

THERE is the national flag! He must be cold, indeed, 
who can look upon its folds rippling in the breeze, 
without pride of country. If he be in a foreign land, 
the flag is companionship and country itself with all its en- 
dearments. Who, as he sees it, can think of a State merely? 
Whose eyes, once fastened upon its radiant trophies, can fail 
to recognize the image of the whole nation ? It has been called 
a "floating piece of poetry," and yet I know not if it have an 
intrinsic beauty beyond that of other ensigns. Its highest 
beauty is in what it symbolizes. It is because it represents 
all, that all gaze at it with delight and reverence. It is 
a piece of bunting lifted in the air, but it speaks sublimely, 
and every part has a voice. Its stripes of alternate red and 
white proclaim the original union of thirteen States to main- 
tain the Declaration of Independence. Its stars of white 
on a field of blue proclaim that union of States constituting 
our national constellation, which receives a new star with 
every new State. The two together signify union, past 
and present. The very colors have a language which was 
officially recognized by our fathers. White is for purity, 
red for valor, blue for justice; and all together, bunting, 
stars, stripes, colors blazing in the sky make the flag of 
our country — to be cherished by all our hearts ; to be 
upheld by all our hands. — Charles Sumner, 

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 

HAIL to the planting of Liberty's tree ! 
Hail to the charter declaring us free ! 
Millions of voices are chanting its praises, 

Millions of worshippers bend at its shrine, 
Wherever the sun of America blazes 

Wherever the stars of our bright banner shine. 

Sing to the heroes who breasted the flood 

That, swelling, rolled o'er them — a deluge of blood, 

Fearless they clung to the ark of the nation. 

And dashed on mid lightning, and thunder, and blast, 
Till Peace, like the dove, brought her branch of salvation. 

And Liberty's mount was their refuge at last. 

Bright is the beautiful land of our birth, 
The home of the homeless all over the earth. 
Oh! let us ever with fondest devotion. 

The freedom our fathers bequeathed us, watch o'er 
Till the angel shall stand on the earth and the ocean, 

And shout mid earth's ruins, that Time is no more. 

—A. B. Street. 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 213 

QUO TATIONS 

Amidst perils and obstructions, on the bleak side of the 
mountain on which it was first cast, the seedling oak, self- 
rooted, shot upward with a determined vigor. Now slighted 
and now assailed ; amidst alternating sunshine and storm ; 
with the axe of a native foe at its root, and the lightning of a 
foreign power, at times, scathing its top, or withering its 
branches, it grew, it flourished, it stands — may it forever 
stand! — the honor of the field. — Josiah Quincy. (From "An 
Address to the Citizens of Boston,") 

Love of country was in them an absorbing principle, an 
undivided feeling, — not of a fragment, a section, but of the 
whole country. Union was the arch on which they raised 
the strong tower of a nation's independence. Let the arm 
be palsied that would loosen one stone in the basis of this 
fair structure, or mar its beauty, — the tongue mute that 
would dishonor their names, by calculating the value of that 
which they deemed without price. — fared Sparks. (From 
"The American Revolution.") 

Lexington was the gathering word ; and the name flew 
from man to man, from colony to colony, as the lightning 
shoots along the dark bosom of the summer cloud. Almost 
at once, one spirit pervaded the whole country ; and while 
our enemies were taking counsel to subdue us one by one, 
we had become a nation. — Burgess. (From "The American 
Revolution and Its Effects.") 

You have no right to tax America. I rejoice that Amer- 
ica has resisted. Three milhons of our fellow citizens, so 
lost to every sense of virtue as tamely to give up their lib- 
erties, would be fit instruments to make slaves of the rest ! — 
Lord Chatham. (From "Taxation and Representation In- 
separable.") 

"Slavery is ever preceded by sleep." Individuals may 
be dependent on ministers, if they please. States should 
scorn it ; ?jid if you are not wanting to yourselves, you will 
have a proper regard paid to you by those to whom, if you 
are not respectable, you will be contemptible. — Dickinson. 

(From "To the British Colonies, 1767.") 

As a civil act, and by the people's decree — and not by 
the achievement of the army, or through military motives — 
as the first stage of the conflict it assigned a new nationality 
with its own institutions, as the civilly pre-ordained end to 
be fought for and secureA.—Williain M. Evarts. (From 
"The Declaration of Independence.") 



214 SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 

Liberty is a solemn thing, a welcome, a joyous, a glo- 
rious thing, if you please, but it is a solemn thing. A free 
people must be a thoughtful people, a free people must be a 
serious people; for it has to do the greatest thing that ever 
was done in the world, to govern itself. — Orville Dewey. 

"Who dares?"— this was the patriot's cry, 
As striding from -the desk he came, — 
"Come out with me in freedom's name, 
For her to hve, for her to die?" 
A hundred hands flung up reply,^ 

A hundred voices answered, "I." — T. B. Read. 

O with thee. 
Spirit of Freedom! deserts, mountains, storms, 
Would wear a glow of beauty, and their forms 
Would soften into loveliness, and be 
Dearest of earth, for there my soul is free. — Moore. 

Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, 

The queen of the world, the child of the skies ; 

Thy genius commands thee; with rapture behold, 

While ages on ages thy splendor unfold. 

Thy reign is the last and the noblest of time, 

Most fruitful thy soil, most inviting thy cHme ; 

Let the crimes of the East ne'er encrimson thy name, 

Be freedom, and science, and virtue thy fame. 

— Timothy Dzuight. (1777.) 

Then sing ye the song of the nation's defenders, 

The wild roses bloom and the Western winds blow. 
The natal day hail that to memory renders 

The debt that to Liberty's martyrs we owe ! 
In spirit they come when the bugles are blowing 

The sweet note of peace on our festival days; 
In spirit they live in the great empires growing, 
And shall live forever !: — sing, sing ye the praise, 
Of the valor of old, 
Of the flag we behold, 
And the twice twenty stars that our banners unfold ! 
— Butferworth. (From "The Nation's Defenders.") 

Ring out the darkness of the land, 
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold. 
Ring out the thousand years of old, 
Ring in the thousand years of peace. 

— Tennyson. 

What's hallow'd ground? 'Tis what gives birfh 
To sacred thoughts in souls of worth ! 
Peace ! Independence ! Truth ! go forth 



SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 215 

Earth's compass round; 
And your high-priesthood shall make earth 
All hallowed ground ! — Campbell. 

The noble race is gone — the suns 

Of many years have risen and set ; 
But the bright links those chosen ones 

So strongly forged are brighter yet, 
Wide as our own free race increase, 

Wide shall extend the elastic chain, 
And bind in everlasting peace 

State after State — a mighty train. 

— Bryant. (From "The Constitution.") 

When a deed is done for Freedom, 

Through the broad earth's aching breast 

Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, 

Trembling on from east to west. 

— Lozvell. (From "The Present Crisis.") 

Great God ! we thank Thee for this home, 

This bounteous birthland of the free ; 
Where wanderers from afar may come, 

And breathe the air of liberty! 
Still her flowers untrampled spring, 

Her harvests wave, her cities rise ; 
And vet, till Time shall fold her wing, 

Remain earth's loveliest paradise. — Selected. 

PROGRAMME. 

PART I. 

EVENTS LEADING TO THE DECLARATION. 

Song: Hail, Columbia. (By "The Sons of Liberty" six- 
tette:) 
Samuel Adams. Patrick Henrv. 

James Otis. Thomas Jefferson. 

Josiah Quincy. Richard Henry Lee. 

Topic: Taxation Without Representation is Tyranny. (By 
James Otis.) 

Reading : The Revolutionary Uprising. 

Topic : Patrick Henry's Virginia Resolutions and the Ef- 
fect. (By Thomas Jefferson.) 
"Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, 
and George the Third — may profit by their example. 
If this be treason, make the most of it." 



216 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Chorus: Land of Every Land the Best. — Murray. (By 
"The Daughters of Liberty.") 

Speeches by our friends in parliament. (Speakers intro- 
duced by Beniamin Franklin.) 

Lord Chatham. (In 1775.) 

When your lordships have perused the papers transmitted 
us from America ; when you consider the dignity, the firm- 
ness, and the wisdom with which the Americans have acted, 
you cannot but respect their cause. History, my lords, 
has been my favorite study ; and, in the celebrated writings 
of antiquity have I often admired the patriotism of Greece 
and Rome ; but, my lords, I must declare and avow, that, 
in the master states of the world I know not the people,, nor 
the senate, who, in such a complication of difficult circum- 
stances, can stand in preference to the delegates of Amer- 
ica, assembled in General Congress at Philadelphia. I trust 
it is obvious to your lordships, that all attempts to impose 
servitude upon such men, to establish despotism over such 
a mighty continental nation, must be vain, must be futile. 
* * *- * It is not repealing this or that act of parlia- 
ment ; it is not repealing a piece of parchment, that can re- 
store America to your bosom : you must repeal her fears 
and resentments, and then you may hope for her love and 
gratitude. But now, insulted with an armed force, irritated 
with an hostile array before her eyes, her concessions, if 
you could force them, would be suspicious and insecure. 
But it is more than evident that you cannot force them 
to your unworthy terms of submission ; it is impossible ; we 
ourselves shall be forced ultimately to retract ; let us re- 
tract while we can, not when we must. 

Lord Chatham. (In 1777.) 

I love and honor the English troops. I know their vir- 
tues and their valor. I know they can achieve anything ex- 
cept impossibilities ; and I know that the conquest of Eng- 
lish America is an impossibility. You cannot, I venture to 
say, you cannot conquer America. * * * * jf j -^vere 
an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop 
was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms, 
— never, never, never ! 

Edmund Burke. 

We have a right to tax America, the noble lord tells us ; 
therefore we ought to tax America. * * * * Qh! ines- 
timable right ! Oh ! wonderful, transcendent right, the asser- 
tion of which has cost this country thirteen provinces, six 
islands, one hundred thousand lives, and seventy millions 
of money! Oh! invaluable right! for the sake of which we 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 217 

have sacrificed our rank among nations, our importance 
abroad, and our happiness at liome ! "^ ^ -"^ * A 
black and bitter day of reckoning will surely come ; and 
whenever that day comes, I trust I shall be able, by a par- 
liamentary impeachment, to bring upon the heads of the 
authors of our calamities the punishment they deserve. 

Charles James Fox. (In 1778.) 

You have two wars before you. ^ * * ^ 'pj^g 
nature of the wars is quite different : the war against Amer- 
ica is against our own countrymen ; you have stopped me 
from saying against your fellow subjects; that against 
France is against your inveterate enemy and rival. Every 
blow you strike in America is against yourselves ; it is 
against all idea of reconciliation, and against your own inter- 
est, though you should be able, as you never will be, to force 
them to submit. * ^ * ^ j|^g ^^^j. q^ ^j-,g Americans 
is a war of passion ; it is of such a nature as to be supported 
by the most powerful virtues, love of liberty and of their 
country ; and at the same time, by those passions in the 
human heart which give courage, strength and perseverance 
to men; the spirit of revenge for the injuries you have done 
them; of retaliation for the hardships you have inflicted on 
them; and of opposition to the unjust powers you have ex- 
ercised over them. Everything combines to animate them 
to this war, and such a war is without end; for whatever 
obstinacy enthusiasm ever inspired man with, you will now 
find in America. No matter what gives birth to that enthus- 
iasm ; whether the name of religion or of liberty, the effects 
are the same; it inspires a spirit which is unconquerable, and 
solicitous to undergo difficulty, danger and hardship ; and 
as long as there is a man in America, a being formed such 
as we are, you will have him present himself against you 
in the field. 

SoxG : Freedom, Our Queen. 

Reading: A Ballad of the Boston Tea-Party. — Holmes, 
(By Samuel Adams.) 

SrzECH: "We Must Fight." (By Patrick Henry.) 

Topic : The Minute Men. — Emerson. Followed by the rec- 
itation of the "Concord Hymn," — Emerson. (By John 
Hancock.) (See page 211.) 

Duet: Come, Ever-Smiling Liberty. — Handel. (By Martha 
Washington and Mrs. John Adams.) 

Recitation : Paul Revere's Ride. — Longfellow. 
Or 
Lexington. — Holmes. 



218 SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL 

Recitation: Warren's Address to His Soldiers Before the 
Battle of Bunker Hill. (By Dr. Joseph Warren.) 
(See page 2c8.) 

Solo : The Sword of Bunker Hill. 

Reading : Grandmother's Stor}^ of the Battle of Bunker 
Hill. — Holmes. (By girl in colonial costume.) 

Tableau: George Washington, Our Country's Hero. (Tak- 
ing command of the armj^) 

PART 11. 

the signing of the declaration of independence. 

Living Pictures Presented . 

Reading of the Declaration of Independence (if desired). 
(By Thomas Jefferson.) 

Speech in Favor of the Declaration. (By John Adams.) 
Song: The Star Spangled Banner. (By "The Sons of 
Liberty" chorus.) 

Signing of the Declaration. (Quotations given as the 
name is affixed.) 

There, John Bull may read my name without spectacles ! 
Gentlemen, we must be unanimous ; we must hang 
together. — John Hancock. 

Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or else most as- 
suredly, we shall hang separately. 

— Benjamin Franklin. 

I shall place "Of Carrolton" after my name, that there 
may be no mistake as to my identity. 

— Charles Carroll. 

Let this most happy day give birth to the American re- 
public. Let her arise, not to devastate and conquer, 
but to re-establish the reign of peace and of the laws. 

— Richard Henry Lee. 

I shall never forget that Patrick Plenry was my inspira- 
tion in this movement. — Thomas Jefferson. 

Sink or swim, survive or perish, I give my hand and my 
heart to this vote. — John Adams. 

Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty in mat- 
ters spiritual and temporal, is the thing that all men 
are clearly entitled to by the immutable laws of God 
and nature as well as by the laws of nations and all 
well-grounded municipal laws, which must have their 
foundation in the former. — Samuel Adams. 



SPECIAL DATS IN SCHOOL 219 

What land has been visited by the influence of hberty, 
that did not flourish like the spring? 

— Roger Sherman. 

In our collected might this shall be a free nation. Let 
us consecrate to it our lives, our fortunes and our 
sacred honor. — Elb ridge Gerry. 

(Other quotations may be given if desired. See quota- 
tions.) 

Recitation: Independence Bell. (July 4, 1776.) (See 
page 208. ) 

Chorus : To Thee, O Country. 
Or 
America. (By "The Sons and Daughters of Liberty.") 



INDEX TO CHIEF SELECTIONS. 



TITLES. 



American Flag, The, extract, 
71. 

American Independence, 212. 

April Welcome, An, 148, 

Arbor Day Tree, An, 146. 

Autumn Festival, 24. 

Barefoot Boy, The, 105. 

Beneath the Flag, 199. 

Bird's Nest, A, 169, 

Birds' Nests, 158. 

Blue and Gray, The, 188. 

Bluebird, The, 169. 

Bluebird, The, 170. 

Blue jay, The, 168. 

Builders, The, 125. 

Christmas Bells, 40. 

Christmas Bells, 44. 

Christmas Everywhere, 52, 

Christmas Message, The, 51. 

Coloring of the Grapes, The, 

16. 
Concord Hymn, 211. 
Corn Song, The, 15. 
Crown Our Washington, 72. 
Daisy's Mission, The, 192. 
Down to Sleep. 2. 
English Song: Harvest Hymn, 

18. 
First Snow-Fall, The, 115. 
Forest Song, 141. 
Freedom, Our Queen, 132. 
Gladness of Nature, The, 100. 
God Save the Flag, 132. 
Green Linnet, The, 173. 
Harvest Home in England, 18. 
Harvest Moon, The, 1.5. 
Heart of a Tree, The, 145. 
Hero, A, 54. 
Heroes, 80. 

Home, Sweet Home, 93. 
Independence Bell, 208. 
In School Days, 104. 
June, 116, 



Knot of Blue and Gray, A, 
189, 

Ladder of St. Augustine, 126. 

Landing of the Pilgrim Fath- 
ers, 30. 

Little Christmas Tree, The, 
38. 

Maize for the Nation's Em- 
blem, 17. 

March, 101. 

Mayflowers, The, 28. 

Meadow Lark, The, 166, 

Merry Christmas, 40, 

My Arm -Chair, 124, 

New England's Dead, 210. 

Nobility, 61. 

November, 87. 

Nut Babies, 10. 

O Captain, My Captain, 64. 

O Little Town cf Bethlehem,, 
42. 

Ode for Washington's Birth- 
day, extract, 75. 

Our Colors, 73. 

Our Colors, 78. 

Our Flag, 56. 

Our Good President, 62. 

Our Heroes, 53, 

Over the River, 12. 

Palmetto and the Pine, The, 
190. 

Phoebe, 166. 

Pilgrim Fathers, The, 31. 

Pilgrims, The, 33. 

Planting of the Apple- Tree, 
The, 142. 

Rain and the Flowers, 155. 
Return of the Birds. The, 157, 
Rhodora, The, 147. 
Rock of the Pilgi^ims, The, 29. 
Rock of Liberty, The, 33. 
Sea Shore Fairies, 89. 
Sleep, Soldier, Sleep, 191. 
Snow-Flakes, 120. 



INDEX TO CHIEF SELECTIONS. 



"Sometime," 92. 

Song of the Pilgrims, 29. 

Song Sparrow in March, A, 
171. 

Spring, 147. 

Spring's Beacon, 151, 

Star in the West, The, 71. 

Star of the East, 51. 

Swallow, The, 1C7. 

Sweet and Low, 192. 

Thanksgiving, 35. 

Thanksgiving Hymn, 8. 

Thanksgiving Hymn, 11. 

To the Frmged Gentian, 100„ 

To a Waterfowl, 173. 

Tree, The, 135. 

Tree, The, 146. 

Trees, The, 144. 

Tree-Planting, 145. 

Tribute to Burns, 129. 

True Soldier, A, 73. 

Twentj^- Second of February, 
The, 78. 

Village Blacksmith, The, 121. 

Waiting to Grow, 147. 

Warren's Address to His Sol- 
diers, 208. 

Washington's Birthday, 58. 



We Thank Thee, 8. 

While Shepherds Watched, 41, 

Why, S'8. 

Wishes, The, 54. 

(Prose.) 

Gary, Alice and Phoebe, 84. 

Field, Eugene, 91. 

First Memorial Day Proclam- 
ation, extract, 177. 

First Thanksgiving, The, 4. 

Flag Salute, The, 193. 

Gambia and the Brazil Nuts, 
19. 

George Washington's Disap- 
pointment, 69. 

Gettysburg Address, The, 63. 

Hayti: — Sugar Cane, 21. 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 
83, 122. 

Naltional Flag, The, 212. 

Old and the New South, The, 
184. 

Origin of Arbor Day, The, 135. 

Stars and Stripes, The, 56. 

Thaxter, Celia, 87. 

Whittier, John Greenleaf, 107. 



AUTHORS. 



Alcott, Louisa M., 40. 

Andrews, Jane, 51. 

Bjornson, Bjornstjerne, 14G. 

Bolton, Sarah K., 16. 

Brooks, Phillips, 42, 52; ex- 
tract, 48. 

Bryant, William C., 100, 101, 
142, 173; extracts: 58, 77, 78, 
151, 152, 153, 157, 165, 166, 
186, 215. 

Butterworth, H., 72; extracts: 
168, 214. 

'Gary, Alice, 61, 87; extracts: 
11, 141, 153. 

Gary, Phoebe, 53, 62, 148; ex- 
tracts: 43, 48. 

Gherry, Lilian M., 107. 



Ghiid, Lydia M., 12. 

Glark, James G., 33. 

Gleator, Alice Jean, 44, 54, 73; 
extract: 44. 

Cook, Eliza, 71. 

Goolidge, Susan, 38. 

Deland, Margaret, 41, 151. 

Drake, Joseph R., 71. 

Emerson, R. W., 147, 211; ex- 
tracts: 66, 67. 

Field, Eugene, 38, 51, 92; ex- 
tract: 48. 

Finch, F. M., 188. 

Garland, Hamlin, 166, 168. 

Gowdy, Nellie F., 54. 

Grady, Henry W., 184. 

Greene, Ellery A., 69. 



INDEX TO CHIEF SELECTIONS. 



ex- 



120, 
ex- 



Hamblin, Alice, 19, 21. 

Hemans, Mrs., 30. 

Holmes, O. W., 132, 133; ex- 
tracts: 67, 75, 152, 154. 

Jackson, Helen Hunt, 2; ex- 
tract: 10. 

Larcom, Lucy, 144, 145, 171; 
extracts: 49, 164, 165. 

I-incoln, Abraham, 63; 
tracts: 65, 66, 76. 

Logan. John A., 177. 

Long-fellow, Henry W., 
121, 124, 125, 126. 127 
tracts: 15, 32, 34, 47, 58, 140, 
141, 152, 154, 162, 163, 175, 
187. 

Lowell, James R., 115; ex- 
tracts: 49, 67, 77, 114, 116, 
150, 151, 154, 162, 164, 167, 
183, 215. 

McLellan, Isaac, Jr., 210. 

Miller, Emily H., 169. 

Montgomery, James, 8. 

Morris, George P., 29. 

O'Reilley, 33. 

Park, William G., 35, 191. 



Payne, John H., 93. 

Percy, Florence, 169. 

Pike, Manley H., 190. 

Pierpont, 31, 208; extract: 184. 

Procter, Adelaide, 49; extract:' 
9, 103. 

Proctor, Edna Dean, 80. 

Rexford, Eben E., 170; ex- 
tracts: 153, 165. 

Richards, Laui^a E., 78. 

Sangster, Margaret, 56; ex- 
tracts: 9, 43, 50. 

Street, A. B., 212. 

Thaxter, Celia, 17, 147, 167; 
extracts: 151, 154, 163, 166, 
176. 

Upham, 29. 

Venable, W. H., 141. 

Very, Jones, 135. 

Whitman, Walt, 64. 

Whittier, John G., 15, 28, 104, 
105, 129; extracts: 9, 10, 13, 
24, 43, 48, 113, 129, 141, 151, 
152, 153, 175, 186. 

Willard, Marie, 18. 

Wordsworth, William, 173. 



A t i^N _ r> n^_>^ 



1902 



AUG. 15 19G2 




5FEQI/IL 
D/IT5 

IN 

5cnooL 




v^. 



•>%^ 

^ h 



JtAH L. QOWDT 



T 




The Perry Pictures. From painting by Blashfield. 

CHRISTMAS CHIMES. 



BINDERY 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS # 




020 975 967 6 



